How to use action/method in other HTML elements (not form) - html

Question

Is it possible to use the attributes action and method in other HTML elements rather than <form>?
The idea is that when the user clicks Account Settings from list Settings (in home page):
I want to load some data from the database using NODE
Modify accountSettings.html
Then load the page
Here is some HTML code (will give Cannot GET /goToSettings error on browser):
<li class="navigation__sub">
Settings
<ul>
<li> Account Settings</li>
<li> Privacy & Security</li>
<li> Notifications & Sounds</li>
<li> User Preferences</li>
<li> Help</li>
<li> Report a problem</li>
</ul>
</li>
app.js
router.post('/goToSettings', (req, res) => {
console.log("PERFORMING CHANGES BEFORE PAGE LOAD");
return res.redirect('/accountSettings.html');
});
I have tried surrounding it with <form> but this will kick the element out of the list, and also doesn't work:
<form action="/goToSettings" method="POST">
<li><a> Account Settings</a></li>
</form>
SOLUTION:
<li><i class="fa fa-user"></i> Account Settings</li>
router.get('/goToSettings', (req, res) => {
console.log("PERFORMING CHANGES BEFORE PAGE LOAD");
return res.redirect('/accountSettings.html');
});

Answer 1

The action and method attribute can only function when being used with a form element. Instead, you could try using an ajax request with a FormData object. It will also not require you to reload the page.
//creates HTTP request and form data object
const xhhtp=new XMLHttpRequest, formData=new FormData();
xhttp.onreadystatechange=function(){
if(this.status===200&&this.readyState===4){
//function to load data based on response
loadData(this.responseText);
}
}
//appends key value pair to formdata
formData.append("KEY","VALUE");
xhttp.open("POST","https://URL",true);
//sends ajax request using formdata
xhttp.send(formData);

Answer 2

I think the method and action attributes are available for <form> elements only