Is it a good idea to have/add logic inside a javascript template like so?

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Asked: May 29, 20262026-05-29T21:31:32+00:00 2026-05-29T21:31:32+00:00

<time style="display: <%= time ? 'block' : 'none' %>"><%= time %></time>

How is rendering time affected by this? Is a it big difference?

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Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-05-29T21:31:36+00:00

In general, it is wise to avoid logic in templates, although conditionally outputting a block if some value is initialized is ok.

The following, I would not have a problem with:

<% if(time) { %><time><%= time %></time><% } %>

For your situation, I would do this. In your <head> (or css):

<style>
  time:empty { display: none; }
</style>

In your template:

<time><%= time %></time>

I’m not certain about browser support for the `:empty´ pseudo-selector, but just to be safe you could also do:

$("time:empty").hide();

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