How to set the value of an attribute using JavaScript

To set the value of an attribute on an HTML element, you can use the setAttribute() method. This method adds the specified attribute to an HTML and gives it the specified value.

If the attribute already exists, it only changes the value.

Let us say you have the following <div> element:

<div class="pizza">Hot, spicy, pizza 🍕</div>

The following example adds the title attribute and sets its value:

const pizza = document.querySelector('.pizza');

pizza.setAttribute('title', 'Italian Pizza');

console.log(pizza.getAttribute('title')); // Italian Pizza

You can also use setAttribute() method to change the inline styles of an element:

pizza.setAttribute('style', 'background-color: pink;');

Although the setAttribute() method sets the style attribute value, it is better to use the element's style property to change styles. By setting the value of style attribute directly, you'll overwrite all other CSS properties that may be specified in the style attribute.

The setAttribute() method can also be used to set the values of the HTML5 data-* attributes:

pizza.setAttribute('data-type', 'italian');

This method works in all modern browsers, and IE9 and up.

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