Element: before() method

The Element.before() method inserts a set of Node or string objects in the children list of this Element's parent, just before this Element. String objects are inserted as equivalent Text nodes.

Syntax

js

before(param1)
before(param1, param2)
before(param1, param2, /* … ,*/ paramN)

Parameters

param1, …, paramN

A set of Node or string objects to insert.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

HierarchyRequestError DOMException

Thrown when the node cannot be inserted at the specified point in the hierarchy.

Examples

Inserting an element

js

let container = document.createElement("div");
let p = document.createElement("p");
container.appendChild(p);
let span = document.createElement("span");

p.before(span);

console.log(container.outerHTML);
// "<div><span></span><p></p></div>"

Inserting text

js

let container = document.createElement("div");
let p = document.createElement("p");
container.appendChild(p);

p.before("Text");

console.log(container.outerHTML);
// "<div>Text<p></p></div>"

Inserting an element and text

js

let container = document.createElement("div");
let p = document.createElement("p");
container.appendChild(p);
let span = document.createElement("span");

p.before(span, "Text");

console.log(container.outerHTML);
// "<div><span></span>Text<p></p></div>"

Specifications

Specification
DOM Standard
# ref-for-dom-childnode-before①

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also