HTML itemtype Global Attribute

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Description

The itemtype attribute is a global HTML attribute used in conjunction with Microdata to specify the type of item being described on a web page. It provides a URL that defines the vocabulary or schema for the item, which helps search engines and other applications understand the semantic meaning of the content.

Purpose

The primary purpose of itemtype is to associate a particular element with a specific type or schema, often from Schema.org or another vocabulary. This enables structured data markup, allowing web crawlers to interpret the content more intelligently - for example, identifying a product, event, person, or organization.

Usage

Must be used on an element that has the itemscope attribute.
The value of itemtype must be a valid URL that points to a schema definition.
Multiple itemtype URLs can be specified using a space-separated list, allowing an element to conform to multiple types.

Syntax

<element itemscope itemtype="URL">
  <!-- content -->
</element>

Example

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person">
  <span itemprop="name">Jane Doe</span>
  <span itemprop="jobTitle">Software Engineer</span>
  <span itemprop="email">jane@example.com</span>
</div>

In this example:

The <div> represents a Person type as defined by Schema.org.
Nested elements with itemprop define the properties of the Person (like name, jobTitle, and email).

Multiple Item Types

<div itemscope 
     itemtype="https://schema.org/Person https://schema.org/EmployeeRole">
  <span itemprop="name">John Smith</span>
  <span itemprop="roleName">Manager</span>
</div>

Here, the element conforms to both Person and EmployeeRole schemas.

Best Practices

Always use a fully-qualified URL for itemtype; relative URLs are not supported.
Use itemtype only with elements that have itemscope.
Combine with itemprop on child elements to define properties.
Prefer widely recognized vocabularies (e.g., Schema.org) for maximum SEO and semantic benefits.

Syntax

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/TypeURL"></div>

Values

itemtype

Technically, the value can be any URL from a data vocabulary. However, in modern web development, Schema.org is the universal standard. Values are case-sensitive and typically follow a hierarchical structure.

Category	Value (URL)
Creative Works	`https://schema.org/Article`, `https://schema.org/Recipe`, `https://schema.org/Movie`
Organizations	`https://schema.org/Organization`, `https://schema.org/LocalBusiness`
People	`https://schema.org/Person`
Products	`https://schema.org/Product`, `https://schema.org/Offer`
Events	`https://schema.org/Event`

Example

HTML

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Book">

  <h2 itemprop="name">The Great Gatsby</h2>

  <p>Author: <span itemprop="author">F. Scott Fitzgerald</span></p>

  <p>Published: <span itemprop="datePublished">1925</span></p>

  <p>ISBN: <span itemprop="isbn">9780743273565</span></p>

  <p>Description: <span itemprop="description">

    A classic novel about the American dream and society in the 1920s.

  </span></p>

</div>

Result

Editor

Browser Support

The following information will show you the current browser support for the HTML itemtype global attribute. Hover over a browser icon to see the version that first introduced support for this HTML global attribute.