Section/Aside (HTML5)

Question

I read about <section> and <aside> on the WC3 site a whole ago, but I can't remember if an <aside> should be placed inside a <section> or directly beneath it. Does anybody know?

E.g. Should it be like this?:

<section>...</section>

Or like this:

<section>...<aside>...</aside>...</section>

Thank you

Answer 1

You can place an aside inside section if you like. It just indicates that the content is not directly related to the current article hence it being aside. Moreover, you can even have a section inside a aside tag if you want to break up the content within it.

I usually think of aside as having more of a semantic meaning and section more of a presentational function. this way you can decide which is best for the content you're trying to display.

Answer 2

To me it makes the most sense to have the aside within the section that it relates to, if that is the intent of the content. However, it's pretty flexible - there are no hard rules.