Best HTML5 markup for sidebar

Question

I'm setting up my WordPress sidebars for an HTML5 theme and really wanting to use before_widget and after_widget right.

So my question is this: which of the two markup patterns is more appropriate? The following code is all completely outside the <article> element.

Option 1: Aside with sections

<aside id="sidebar">     <section id="widget_1"></section>     <section id="widget_2"></section>     <section id="widget_3"></section> </aside> 

Option 2: Div with Asides

<div id="sidebar">     <aside id="widget_1"></aside>     <aside id="widget_1"></aside >     <aside id="widget_1"></aside > </div> 

I suppose the auxiliary question is then what heading to use for each widget title. If I wrap each widget in a <section> then <h1> seems most appropriate. If I use <aside>, I'm not sure.

All opinions welcome. Devil's advocates encouraged.

Answer 1

First of all ASIDE is to be used only to denote related content to main content, not for a generic sidebar. Second, one aside for each sidebar only

You will have only one aside for each sidebar. Elements of a sidebar are divs or sections inside a aside.

I would go with Option 1: Aside with sections

<aside id="sidebar">     <section id="widget_1"></section>     <section id="widget_2"></section>     <section id="widget_3"></section> </aside> 

Here is the spec https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/aside

Again use section only if they have a header or footer in them, otherwise use a plain div.

Answer 2

Update 17/07/27: As this is the most-voted answer, I should update this to include current information locally (with links to the references).

From the spec ^[1]:

The aside element represents a section of a page that consists of content that is tangentially related to the content of the parenting sectioning content, and which could be considered separate from that content. Such sections are often represented as sidebars in printed typography.

Great! Exactly what we're looking for. In addition, it is best to check on <section> as well.

The section element represents a generic section of a document or application. A section, in this context, is a thematic grouping of content. Each section should be identified, typically by including a heading (h1-h6 element) as a child of the section element.

...

A general rule is that the section element is appropriate only if the element’s contents would be listed explicitly in the document’s outline.

Excellent. Just what we're looking for. As opposed to <article> ^[2] which is for "self-contained" content, <section> allows for related content that isn't stand-alone, or generic enough for a <div> element.

As such, the spec seems to suggest that using Option 1, <aside> with <section> children is best practice.

References

1. https://www.w3.org/TR/html51/sections.html#the-aside-element
2. https://www.w3.org/TR/html51/sections.html#elementdef-article
3. http://html5doctor.com/aside-revisited/