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Usage

Browser Interoperability

There are few things more frustrating than knowing a new browser API would solve your problem perfectly, but that you can't use it because of poor support.

Thankfully, with initiatives like Interop one can hope that the Popover API and Anchor Positioning soon join the ranks of the features we all use without giving it a second thought.

Which existing HTML features or browser APIs are you unable to use because of browser differences or lack of support?
Freeform
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

2

+18
3

4

-2
5

+3
6

Safari issues

7

<select>

8

<input type="date">

-3
9

+4
10

Customized built-in elements

+6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents

Limited Functionality

While poor browser support is certainly a problem, even well-supported features can see lower usage if they are hard to customize to developer needs, or just plain hard to master.

Which existing HTML features or browser APIs are you unable to use for other reasons (and why)?
Freeform
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

<select>

+2
2

<input type="date">

-1
3

-1
4

+3
5

+1
6

+6
7

<select multiple>

+1
8

+2
9

Form inputs

-5
10

Autocomplete

+3
11

Dropdown menus

-2
12

<input type="checkbox">

-7
13

Other Answers

+8
Answers matching “Other Answers” 260
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents

Missing Elements

It might seem weird that omnipresent UI controls such as tabs or datatables still don't have a corresponding native HTML element.

But getting these complex behaviors right while accounting for all edge cases takes time, so for now all we can do is wait and hope these elements make their way to the browser one day.

If you could add new elements to HTML, what would they be?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Data table

1,797
2

Tabs

1,419
3

Switch/toggle

1,113
4

Skeleton UI/loading placeholder

977
5

Context menu/right-click menu

953
6

Carousel

917
7

Infinite scroll

844
8

Accordion

563
9

Image zoom

438
10

Segmented button

267
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents

HTML/CSS vs JS/TS Balance

We still spend far more time writing JavaScript (or TypeScript) than anything else. While there's nothing wrong with that, the web platform as a whole's ongoing progress will hopefully help balance things out a bit in the near future.

How do you divide your time between writing HTML/CSS and JavaScript (or TypeScript) code?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

100% HTML/CSS

46
2

1

260
3

2

368
4

3

273
5

50%–50%

617
6

5

494
7

6

1,118
8

7

470
9

100% JS

33
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents

HTML Usage

While “classic” use cases like blogs or homepages still represent a sizable part of the modern web developer's workload, the largest chunk by far is now web apps – which in turn explains why the web platform has been adapting to this new state of things.

What do you use HTML for?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Web apps

3,030
2

Blogs or other text-heavy sites

2,047
3

Marketing sites & landing pages

1,700
4

Design systems

1,390
5

Emails

1,038
6

Desktop apps

+1
767
7

Mobile apps

-1
705
8

Printed documents

493
9

E-Commerce sites

10

🚫 None

+2
10
11

Other Answers

+2
92
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents

Industry Sector

Programming & Technical Tools topped the rankings, which makes sense for a developer-focused survey.

It's also interesting to note that E-commerce came in third, as this is a sector that faces the double challenge of building highly performant sites that also need to feature complex user interactions.

Which industry sector(s) do you work in?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Programowanie & Narzędzia Techniczne

1,162
2

Usługi Doracze

838
3

Ecommerce i Sprzedaż Detaliczna

588
4

Edukacja

474
5

Finanse

+1
395
6

Marketing/Sprzedaż/Narzędzia Analityczne

-1
342
7

Rozrywka

300
8

Wiadomości, Media, i Blogi

281
9

Opieka Zdrowotna

230
10

Rząd

225
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
💡
Według badań naukowych, udostępnienie tego sondażu na Twitterze, Facebooku lub emailem powoduje wzrost biegłości w JavaScript aż o 15%.

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