Using the <button> Element

Notes

A submit button with the attribute formaction set, but without an associated form does nothing. You have to set a form owner, either by wrapping it in a <form> or set the attribute form to the id of the form.

<button> elements are much easier to style than <input> elements. You can add inner HTML content (think <i>, <br>, or even <img>), and use ::after and ::before pseudo-elements for complex rendering.

If your buttons are not for submitting form data to a server, be sure to set their type attribute to button. Otherwise they will try to submit form data and to load the (nonexistent) response, possibly destroying the current state of the document.

While <button type="button"> has no default behavior, event handlers can be scripted to trigger behaviors. An activated button can perform programmable actions using JavaScript, such as removing an item from a list.