Web pages structured with which tag will fail W3C validation tests, no matter what standard is used?

Question

Options

• A<div>
• B<table>
• C<header>
• D<aside>

• B
  89% (24)
• C
  7% (2)
• D
  4% (1)

Explanation

Using <table> to structure an entire web page (i.e., table-based layout) consistently violates W3C guidelines regardless of which HTML standard applies, because <table> is semantically defined for tabular data only - not for page layout. Every major standard (HTML 4.01, XHTML, HTML5) specifies this semantic restriction, meaning a layout-driven <table> structure will be flagged by validators across all of them.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (<div>) - A generic, non-semantic block container; valid across all HTML standards and commonly used for layout.
• C (<header>) - A valid HTML5 semantic element; it would only fail under older standards like HTML 4.01 or XHTML 1.0, not across all standards.
• D (<aside>) - Same situation as <header>: valid in HTML5, fails in pre-HTML5 - but not universally.

Memory tip: Think "T for Table = T for Tabular data only." If your data doesn't belong in a spreadsheet, it doesn't belong in a <table>. The other three options (<div>, <header>, <aside>) are all legitimate structural elements in at least one valid standard - <table> for layout has never been acceptable under any W3C specification.

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