Does <STYLE> have to be in the <HEAD> of an HTML document?

html coding-style html-head
eaolson picture eaolson · Aug 20, 2009 · Viewed 83.3k times · Source

Strictly speaking, do style tags need to be inside the head of an HTML document? The 4.01 standard implies that, but it's not explicitly stated:

The STYLE element allows authors to put style sheet rules in the head of the document. HTML permits any number of STYLE elements in the HEAD section of a document.

I say "strictly speaking" because I have an app that puts style elements inside the body, and all the browsers I've tested with seem to use the style elements. I'm just wondering if that's actually legal.

Answer

Esteban K&#252;ber picture Esteban Küber · Aug 20, 2009

style is supposed to be included only on the head of the document.

Besides the validation point, one caveat that might interest you when using style on the body is the flash of unstyled content. The browser would get elements that would be styled after they are displayed, making them shift on size/shape/font and/or flicker. It is generally a sign of bad craftsmanship. Generally you can get away with putting style anywhere you want, but try to avoid it whenever it is possible.

HTML 5 introduced a scoped attribute that allowed style tags to be included everywhere in the body, but then they removed it again.

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