Definition of "empty element"

An empty element is an element with just a start tag and an end tag, but no content other than possibly some HTML comments or white space between the tags.

Contrast with a void element, which refers to the content model of an element and typically is coded with a self-closing start tag.

Both empty elements and void elements may have content models that are empty, indicating that they cannot contain any nested child elements or text nodes. All properties of an element with an empty content model must be coded as attributes.

Some browsers violate the rules for how to code void elements and empty elements. For example, Internet Explorer only processes <link> tags when coded with a separate start and end tag:

<link rel="shortcut icon" sizes="16x16" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" href="/favicon.ico"></link>