: The Unordered List element

The <ul> HTML element represents an unordered list of items, typically rendered as a bulleted list.

{{InteractiveExample("HTML Demo: <ul>", "tabbed-standard")}}

<ul>
  <li>Milk</li>
  <li>
    Cheese
    <ul>
      <li>Blue cheese</li>
      <li>Feta</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

li {
  list-style-type: circle;
}

li li {
  list-style-type: square;
}

Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

• compact {{Deprecated_inline}}
  • : This Boolean attribute hints that the list should be rendered in a compact style. The interpretation of this attribute is browser-specific. Use CSS instead: to give a similar effect as the compact attribute, the CSS property {{cssxref("line-height")}} can be used with a value of 80%.
• type {{Deprecated_inline}}

  • : This attribute sets the bullet style for the list. The values defined under HTML3.2 and the transitional version of HTML 4.0/4.01 are:

    • circle
    • disc
    • square

    A fourth bullet type has been defined in the WebTV interface, but not all browsers support it: triangle.

    If not present and if no CSS {{ cssxref("list-style-type") }} property applies to the element, the user agent selects a bullet type depending on the nesting level of the list.

    [!WARNING] Do not use this attribute, as it has been deprecated; use the CSS {{ cssxref("list-style-type") }} property instead.

Usage notes

• The <ul> element is for grouping a collection of items that do not have a numerical ordering, and their order in the list is meaningless. Typically, unordered-list items are displayed with a bullet, which can be of several forms, like a dot, a circle, or a square. The bullet style is not defined in the HTML description of the page, but in its associated CSS, using the {{ cssxref("list-style-type") }} property.
• The <ul> and {{HTMLElement("ol")}} elements may be nested as deeply as desired. Moreover, the nested lists may alternate between <ol> and <ul> without restriction.
• The {{ HTMLElement("ol") }} and <ul> elements both represent a list of items. They differ in that, with the {{ HTMLElement("ol") }} element, the order is meaningful. To determine which one to use, try changing the order of the list items; if the meaning is changed, the {{ HTMLElement("ol") }} element should be used, otherwise you can use <ul>.

Examples

Basic example

<ul>
  <li>first item</li>
  <li>second item</li>
  <li>third item</li>
</ul>

Result

{{EmbedLiveSample("Basic_example", 400, 120)}}

Nesting a list

<ul>
  <li>first item</li>
  <li>
    second item
    <!-- Look, the closing </li> tag is not placed here! -->
    <ul>
      <li>second item first subitem</li>
      <li>
        second item second subitem
        <!-- Same for the second nested unordered list! -->
        <ul>
          <li>second item second subitem first sub-subitem</li>
          <li>second item second subitem second sub-subitem</li>
          <li>second item second subitem third sub-subitem</li>
        </ul>
      </li>
      <!-- Closing </li> tag for the li that
                  contains the third unordered list -->
      <li>second item third subitem</li>
    </ul>
    <!-- Here is the closing </li> tag -->
  </li>
  <li>third item</li>
</ul>

Result

{{EmbedLiveSample("Nesting_a_list", 400, 340)}}

Ordered list inside unordered list

<ul>
  <li>first item</li>
  <li>
    second item
    <!-- Look, the closing </li> tag is not placed here! -->
    <ol>
      <li>second item first subitem</li>
      <li>second item second subitem</li>
      <li>second item third subitem</li>
    </ol>
    <!-- Here is the closing </li> tag -->
  </li>
  <li>third item</li>
</ul>

Result

{{EmbedLiveSample("Ordered_list_inside_unordered_list", 400, 190)}}

Technical summary

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• Other list-related HTML Elements: {{HTMLElement("ol")}}, {{HTMLElement("li")}}, {{HTMLElement("menu")}}
• CSS properties that may be specially useful to style the <ul> element:
  • the {{CSSxRef("list-style")}} property, to choose the way the ordinal displays.
  • CSS counters, to handle complex nested lists.
  • the {{CSSxRef("line-height")}} property, to simulate the deprecated compact attribute.
  • the {{CSSxRef("margin")}} property, to control the list indentation.