JavaScript - How to Manipulate DOM Elements?
Last Updated : 02 Mar, 2025
The DOM stands for the Document Object Model (DOM), which allows us to interact with the document and change its structure, style, and content. We can use the DOM to change the content and style of an HTML element by changing its properties.
In this article, we will discuss how to manipulate the DOM elements.
How to Manipulate DOM Elements?
We can manipulate or change the DOM elements by using the following methods:
1. Change the Content of an Element
You can change the content inside an HTML element using JavaScript. The two most common properties for this are innerHTML and textContent:
- innerHTML: Allows you to get or set the HTML content inside an element.
- textContent: Allows you to get or set the text content inside an element, ignoring any HTML tags.
HTML <body> <div id="example1">This is the original content using innerHTML.</div> <div id="example2">This is the original text content using textContent.</div> <button onclick="changeContent()">Change Content</button> <script> // Function to change content function changeContent() { document.getElementById("example1").innerHTML = "<strong>This is changed using innerHTML!</strong>"; document.getElementById("example2").textContent = "This is changed using textContent!"; } </script> </body> Output
DOM Manipulation - Change the Content of an ElementIn this example
- innerHTML changes the entire content of an element, including HTML tags. In this case, we replace the content of the first div with bold text using <strong>.
- textContent changes only the text inside the element, ignoring any HTML tags. The second div is updated with plain text, without any HTML formatting.
- The first div shows "This is the original content using innerHTML."
- The second div shows "This is the original text content using textContent."
- After clicking the "Change Content" button.
- The first div will display "This is changed using innerHTML!" with bold text.
- The second div will display "This is changed using textContent!" with plain text.
2. Manipulate the Class Attribute
You can add, remove, or toggle classes on an element using JavaScript. This is helpful for styling or applying animations.
- classList.add(): Adds a class to an element.
- classList.remove(): Removes a class from an element.
- classList.toggle(): Toggles a class (adds it if it's not present, removes it if it is).
HTML <html> <head> <style> .highlight { color: red; font-weight: bold; } .bold { font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body> <div id="example" class="bold">This is a text element with the "bold" class.</div> <button onclick="addClass()">Add 'highlight' Class</button> <button onclick="removeClass()">Remove 'bold' Class</button> <button onclick="toggleClass()">Toggle 'highlight' Class</button> <script> function addClass() { document.getElementById("example").classList.add("highlight"); } function removeClass() { document.getElementById("example").classList.remove("bold"); } function toggleClass() { document.getElementById("example").classList.toggle("highlight"); } </script> </body> </html> Output:
Dom Manipulation - Manipulate the Class AttributeIn this example
- Adding a Class (addClass()): When you click the "Add 'highlight' Class" button, the highlight class is added to the div element with the id="example". This changes the text color to red and makes it bold (as defined in the CSS).
- Removing a Class (removeClass()): When you click the "Remove 'bold' Class" button, the bold class is removed from the div, which removes the bold styling from the text.
- Toggling a Class (toggleClass()): When you click the "Toggle 'highlight' Class" button, the highlight class is either added or removed, depending on whether it's already present. If the class is present, it will be removed; if not, it will be added.
3. Set CSS Styles Using JavaScript
You can directly manipulate the CSS styles of an element using the style property. This allows you to dynamically change how elements appear on the page.
JavaScript // Changing multiple CSS properties document.getElementById("demo").style.color = "red"; document.getElementById("demo").style.fontSize = "20px"; // Adding more than one style document.getElementById("demo").style.cssText = "color: blue; font-size: 18px;"; 4. Create, Add, and Remove Elements
Sometimes, you need to create new elements, add them to the DOM, or remove existing ones. You can do this easily with the following methods
- document.createElement(): Creates a new element.
- appendChild(): Adds a new element to a parent element.
- removeChild(): Removes a child element from a parent.
JavaScript // Create a new element let newDiv = document.createElement("div"); newDiv.textContent = "This is a new div"; // Add the new element to the DOM document.body.appendChild(newDiv); // Remove an element from the DOM document.body.removeChild(newDiv); 5. Insert Elements at a Specific Position
You can insert new elements at specific positions relative to existing elements using methods like insertBefore().
JavaScript // Create a new element let newDiv = document.createElement("div"); newDiv.textContent = "This is a new div"; // Find an existing element to insert before let referenceNode = document.getElementById("referenceElement"); // Insert the new element before the reference element document.body.insertBefore(newDiv, referenceNode); 6. Manipulate Element Attributes
You can easily get, set, or remove the attributes of an HTML element using the following methods:
- getAttribute(): Retrieves the value of an attribute.
- setAttribute(): Sets a new value for an attribute.
- removeAttribute(): Removes an attribute.
JavaScript // Get the value of an attribute let src = document.getElementById("image").getAttribute("src"); // Set a new value for an attribute document.getElementById("image").setAttribute("src", "new-image.jpg"); // Remove an attribute document.getElementById("image").removeAttribute("src"); 7. Manipulate Data Attributes
HTML5 introduced data attributes, which are custom attributes that you can use to store extra information about an element. These are particularly useful for adding data to an element without affecting its visual structure.
- dataset: A special property in JavaScript that allows you to access data attributes.
JavaScript // Setting a data attribute document.getElementById("demo").dataset.userId = "12345"; // Getting a data attribute let userId = document.getElementById("demo").dataset.userId; console.log(userId); // Outputs: 12345 Conclusion
Manipulating the DOM with JavaScript is a core aspect of web development. Understanding how to select, modify, and manipulate DOM elements enables you to create dynamic, interactive web applications. With the power to change text, styles, attributes, and even structure in real-time, JavaScript empowers developers to build rich, user-responsive websites.
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