Is <input> well formed without a <form>?
HtmlFormsInputHtml Problem Overview
Is it valid to have <input> without it being in a <form>?
Have a process for marking up some fields in pages and just found a page with input fields that where not being marked up as I expected.
It's taken me a while but worked out that the process of getting the form elements then getting the fields is what caused these to be missed because there is no form.
Html Solutions
Solution 1 - Html
<input> without a <form> appears valid, yes (at least for html 4.01, look near the end of 17.2.1):
> The elements used to create controls > generally appear inside a FORM > element, but may also appear outside > of a FORM element declaration when > they are used to build user > interfaces. This is discussed in the > section on intrinsic events. Note that > controls outside a form cannot be > successful controls.
Solution 2 - Html
I checked the following with the W3C validator and it confirms this is valid.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>test</title>
</head>
<body>
<input type='text' />
</body>
</html>
Solution 3 - Html
Reference to a more up-to-date specification:
HTML 5.2 - W3C Recommendation (14 December 2017)
>A form-associated element can have a relationship with a <form> element, which is called the element’s form owner. If a form-associated element is not associated with a <form> element, its form owner is said to be null.
Solution 4 - Html
According to MDN it is possible:
> Note that it's always possible to use a form widget outside of a
Solution 5 - Html
I know this question is quite old, however, I have successfully built many complex data entry pages without form tags. Although it isn't considered "standard" by many, it is NOT inappropriate to use inputs without a <form>. My projects were instances where I needed complete control over how the page behaved and the default form behavior was getting in the way. Was able to perform page and field level validation ( using JS ) and "submitted" the data with Ajax calls etc...in fact, this is my preferred way these days.
Lots of JS is required, but its not that difficult and is easily done as reusable code.
There are also other instances where I def do NOT use forms with inputs such as Login Pages.
Hope this testimonial helps someone.
Solution 6 - Html
in my point of view , we can use input outside the form and even send data to the server without put the input in the form ,but for SEO and website readability(for visually impaired people)(just the same reason for the some semantic content tags in HTML5 , like section ,footer, header something like that ), we have to use input in the form tag.It is important that we ensure the code we use is available to all people including the visually impaired people because it is not just about websites, it is about providing access to information for everyone.
Solution 7 - Html
Yes, you can have a valid input without a form.