HTML DOM Element appendChild()

Examples

Append an item to a list:

const node = document.createElement("li");
const textnode = document.createTextNode("Water");
node.appendChild(textnode);
document.getElementById("myList").appendChild(node);
Before:
  • Coffee
  • Tea

After:
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Water
Try it Yourself »

Move an item from one list to another:

const node = document.getElementById("myList2").lastElementChild;
document.getElementById("myList1").appendChild(node);
Before:
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Water
  • Milk
After:
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Milk
  • Water
Try it Yourself »

More examples below.


Description

The appendChild() method appends a node (element) as the last child of an element.


Syntax

element.appendChild(node)
or
node.appendChild(node)

Parameters

Parameter Description
node Required.
The node to append.

Return Value

Type Description
NodeThe appended node.


More Examples

To create a paragraph with a text.

  • Create a paragraph element
  • Create a text node
  • Append the text node to the paragraph
  • Append the paragraph to the document.

Create a <p> element and append it to a <div> element:

const para = document.createElement("p");
const node = document.createTextNode("This is a paragraph.");

para.appendChild(node);
document.getElementById("myDIV").appendChild(para);
Try it Yourself »

Create a <p> element and append it to the document's body:

const para = document.createElement("P");
const node = document.createTextNode("This is a paragraph.");

para.appendChild(node);
document.body.appendChild(para);
Try it Yourself »

Browser Support

element.appendChild() is a DOM Level 1 (1998) feature.

It is fully supported in all browsers:

Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera IE
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 9-11

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