Hi
Are there any reasons why shouldn’t I use <a> tags instead of <ul> <li> tags in building a menu?
For example
<div class=“menu”>
<a href=“#”>MENUITEM1</a>
<a href=“#”>MENUITEM2</a>
</div>
Instead of…
<ul id=“menu”>
<li><a href=“#”>MENUITEM1</a></li>
<li><a href=“#”>MENUITEM2</a></li>
</ul>
It’s more semantically correct to use a list (plus your not stuffing a generic DIV where it’s not needed). A menu is by definition a list of links to various sections of a website, therefore it should be provided as such in a list. If you’re going to code a website, you may as well use the right tool for the right job. 
There is no real reason why you shouldn’t but like was mentioned it’s considered slightly more semantic to use LI. Although it’s not really any more an “unordered list” than a paragraph is a list of words (in some cases) it a kind of limitation of current navigation-specific elements. Now, if the links required OL then yes, it is more apt - I am not disagreeing just putting forward a different perspective.
using <li> could help “a bit” in SEO.
I am not sure about it, i read it somewhere.
But isn’t the information provided on that site wrong?
A list can contain just one element, no?
Tracklist:
That’s a list with one item. As laughable as a one-item list may look like, it is semantically correct as far as I understand it.
Not sure where you might have read that but it is drivel (shear nonsense) there would be NO SEO advantage to the list.
That being said someone here a long time ago asked me a question (in relationship to a menu)
What is a menu?
The answer is as plain as the nose on your face!
A menu is a list of links to pages on a site and that’s where is becomes semantically correct to use lists for menus, nuff said
Someone using a browser where your CSS isn’t applied would be unable to tell where one link ends and the other starts as the two run into one another. Visually there might be a slight gap in the underline but for anyone listening there is nothing to divide up the links. At the very least if you are going to have multiple <a> within the one element you need at least one character of actual text in between such as |
Marking up your list as a list is not only more semantic, it also takes care of dividing up the links so that everyone can tell where they start and finish.
@kohoutek - You bring up a good question, “can a list contain just one item (element)”. I’d argue that a list must contain more than one item, unless it isn’t a list.
Ridiculous.
I would use a <ul>/<li> combo for the extra CSS hook.
Coop, I won’t debate coding semantics with you, because I will lose but I will posit that in spoken/written language semantics, a list must contain more than one item to be a list.
[highlight=“Proper English”]Cooper’s grocery list includes: butter, cheese, milk, and bread.
However, in HTML, a list can contain a single item to be functionally, and semantically, correct.
[highlight="HTML 4.01 Strict"]<ul>
<li>an item</li>
</ul>
It validates, it works on the page … I don’t see the downside.
Tell me I’m wrong if you must but, please, explain why.
Validation and being semantically correct are two different things. The html validator looks for well formed pages.
I’m basing my belief off the spoken/written language - since that’s what in actuality defines the existence of a list.
W3C says - All lists must contain one or more list element.
That is the most contradicting statement i’ve ever heard.
The w3c also wraps a <p> element around an input control.
I’ve read the spec, and disagree with a few things 
<rant>Don’t get me started with html5</rant> hehe
Yes, it does look ridiculous but if I take a music album comprising two discs; the first disc has 12 songs, the second disc has only one song. Were I to write that in HTML, I would write two lists, the second one containing all but a single item.
If no element can semantically define the intended content, then a neutral element should be used. Since block level elements are sitting before/after, a neutral block level element would encapsulate the one grocery item/album song.
It is absolutely contradictory. But it also means I can create a one-item list, if need be, that won’t make my code or anyone’s browser throw a hairball.
You must listen to some of the [URL=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Crimson”]same bands [URL=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Tension_Experiment”]I do…
If an album were to have one song, it wouldn’t be considered a list though. I see what you’re saying, but really think about it.
“A list of one song”
Just because W3C spec. says something doesn’t mean it’s semantically correct.
It’s like stating that a machine made by man is perfect, without hiccup
Yep.
There is no such thing as an one-item list though 
Just because it looks good in a browser, doesn’t mean its semantically correct.
I never said that I think it’s correct because the W3C says so.
When I write a grocery list, even if I just have one item to shop today, it’s still my grocery list. The nature of the item doesn’t change. At least I don’t think it does. It seems logical to me (which means absolutely nothing).
Sorry, I was speaking out of context. When you or I write a list, we write more than one item, because if we go to the store to get just one item, we don’t need to write anything, correct?
Probably, yes but I am speaking in HTML terms. How do I markup my one-item grocery list in HTML?
Going with my previous example with the 2-disc set, what does my markup look like for the second disc containing one meager song?