Definition of HTML "void element"

A void element is an element that can never have any child elements or text content. The term refers to the content model of an element without any content. In ployglot HTML documents, a void element is usually coded as a self-closing empty tag (<br/>, <img .../>) rather than with a separate start tag and end tag (<br></br>, <img ...></img>).

Contrast with empty element, which refers to an element with no content in the serialized form of an HTML document.

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>