HTML quotations: keep quoted text and attribution distinct

Use it for a real task

The finance team keeps an approval policy excerpt beside a receipt. The quotation is the policy language; the attribution names the owning team without pretending that a cite attribute is displayed as a visible credit. The example uses a local policy route only if that route exists in the application. Short quoted terms in a paragraph use q, allowing the user agent to handle quotation marks.

<figure>
  <blockquote>
    <p>Export records after the second reviewer confirms the batch.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <figcaption>Finance review policy, revision 47</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The policy calls this state <q>confirmed for export</q>.</p>

What the markup guarantees

The figure caption provides a visible attribution. An external legal or policy claim still needs a verifiable owner and revision in the real application; HTML semantics do not authenticate quoted content.

Cost and limits

A quotation needs only a few elements. The costly error is editorial: stale policy text can mislead reviewers even when the markup is technically valid.

Common Mistakes

• Do not use blockquote merely to indent prose.
• Do not assume cite supplies visible attribution.
• Keep policy wording and revision synchronized with the actual owner.

Connected lessons

• HTML figure and figcaption: keep an asset with its explanation
• HTML article and section: mark standalone content and named subdivisions
• HTML time and data: pair readable copy with machine-readable values

Related CSS decisions

• CSS :lang(): style text from its declared language