Separator Block

The separator block adds a horizontal rule (<hr>), which represents a thematic break between paragraph-level elements.

If you think of your page headings (e.g. heading 2) as defining chapters, a separator block would indicate a scene change within a particular chapter — not a new chapter or a new book. And so you should only use separator block to indicate a break within section labeled by the preceding heading.

If you are intending to separate all content after the separator block from all content before the separator block, use a heading instead. But you will also need to maintain a proper heading outline when doing so. See Headings.

Do not add a separator block immediately before or after a heading. As there is no content between the separator block and the heading, there are no paragraph-level elements to break up.

A horizontal rule is a semantic element, meaning screen readers and other software that reads your website’s code (e.g. search engines) will attach meaning to that element, so it should not be used to simply provide visual flair.