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---

# Spot the Mistakes: HTML Tables

**By:** [Daniel Cranney](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@daniel-cranney)

**Published:** April 30, 2025

When it comes to HTML, tables don’t get the respect they deserve.

Despite being a part of HTML since 1997 - and with many others tags from the time now being deprecated - tables are considered by many to be awkward, verbose and perhaps even unnecessary (_I know what you’re thinking, could we just use divs?_).

The fact is, HTML tables are readable, keep information organised, and come with accessibility features, too (like caption). In this article, we’ve made some mistakes in a table, and want you to spot them.

**Let us know on socials if you spot the five mistakes, or check the bottom of the article for answers.**

## The Code

    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Product</th>
          <th>Price<th>
        </tr>
      </thead
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td>Apple</td>
          <td>$1</td>
        </tr>
        <div>
          <tr>
            <td>Banana</td>
            <td>$0.50</td>
          </tr>
        </div>
        <tr>
          <td>Cherry
          <td>$2
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>

## The Answers

Think you’ve found the answers? See if you found them all below.

Mistake 1

**Unclosed \<th\> tag for "Price"**  
 The "Price" column header doesn't have a proper closing tag. It ends with `<th>` instead of `</th>`, breaking the table structure.

Mistake 2

**Missing closing \</thead\> tag**  
 The `<thead>` is left open (`</thead` missing a closing `>`), causing invalid nesting for the table sections.

Mistake 3

**Invalid \<div\> inside \<tbody\>**  
 A `<div>` element is incorrectly placed inside the table's `<tbody>`. Only table-related tags like `<tr>`, `<td>`, and `<th>` are allowed inside tables.

Mistake 4

**Missing closing \</td\> tags in "Cherry" row**  
 The "Cherry" product and its price don't have their `</td>` tags closed. This can cause browsers to misinterpret the layout and break the table visually or semantically.

Mistake 5

**Missing \<caption\> element for table**  
 A `<caption>` describing the purpose of the table is missing. While not strictly required, it greatly improves accessibility, especially for screen reader users.



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