The HTML <time> element is the accessible, machine-readable way to mark up a date or time on a web page. It pairs a precise datetime attribute (which crawlers and assistive technology can parse) with a friendly visible label that a screen reader reads aloud. This tool takes any ISO 8601 string and produces both halves correctly, so your dates are simultaneously accurate for machines and clear for people.
How it works
An ISO 8601 value such as 2026-06-06T14:30:00Z is unambiguous but hard to read. The tool parses it with the browser’s Date constructor, then:
- Keeps the original ISO string as the
datetimeattribute so parsers retain full precision. - Formats a human-readable label using the
Intl.DateTimeFormatAPI in your chosen locale and verbosity. - Wraps the result as
<time datetime="2026-06-06T14:30:00Z">Saturday, 6 June 2026, 14:30</time>.
Because screen readers announce the text node and ignore the datetime attribute, the visible label is what determines how the date is spoken. A bare 2026-06-06 would be read digit-by-digit; a formatted label is read naturally.
Tips and notes
- Always keep a valid ISO value in
datetimeeven when the visible text is abbreviated — that is what makes the markup machine-readable. - For date-only values, omit the time from the label so screen readers do not announce a misleading
00:00. - Use a long weekday-and-month format for prose, and a short format inside dense tables or timelines where space is limited.
- The
datetimeattribute also powers rich results and event schema, so correct markup helps SEO as well as accessibility.