diff --git a/docs/features/html-import.md b/docs/features/html-import.md
index 7cb7bf493..a9a2815d6 100644
--- a/docs/features/html-import.md
+++ b/docs/features/html-import.md
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ Callers splice the fragment into the page tree via `insertImportedNodes(parentId
 | `select` | `base.select` | `fieldId`, `name`, `id`, `required`, `disabled`, `multiple` | Yes |
 | `optgroup` | `base.option-group` | `label`, `disabled` | Yes |
 | `option` | `base.option` | `value`, `label`, `selected`, `disabled` | No |
-| `button` | `base.button`, `base.submit` when submit-type / inside a form without a type, or `base.container` tagged `button` when a non-submit button wraps element children | `label`, `disabled` | No for text-only and for submit buttons; yes for compound non-submit buttons |
+| `button` | `base.button`, `base.submit` when submit-type / inside a form without a type, or `base.container` tagged `button` when a non-submit button wraps element children | `label`, `disabled` | No for text-only; yes when the button wraps element children |
 | `ul`, `ol` | `base.container` | `tag` = tag name | Yes |
 | `div`, `section`, `article`, `main`, `header`, `footer`, `nav`, `aside` | `base.container` | `tag` = tag name | Yes |
 | `area`, `base`, `br`, `col`, `embed`, `hr`, `link`, `meta`, `param`, `source`, `track`, `wbr` (void elements) | `base.container` | `tag: 'custom'`, `customTag` = tag name | **No** |
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ Callers splice the fragment into the page tree via `insertImportedNodes(parentId
 - **Direct text inside a recursing container is preserved.** The walker iterates `childNodes` (not just `children`): element children route through the rules, and each significant text node becomes a synthesized `base.text` child with `tag: 'none'` in document order. That no-wrapper text mode publishes back to bare text, so `<div class="num">98%</div>` and `<li>Buy milk</li>` import as containers holding their original text without adding selector-visible wrapper elements. Whitespace-only text (indentation between tags) is skipped; internal whitespace runs collapse to single spaces, and boundary spaces are kept when the text run sits between element siblings.
 - **`<body>` metadata is preserved separately.** Classes, safe HTML attributes (`id`, ARIA, `data-*`, etc.), and harvested inline styles on `<body>` are returned as `fragment.body` rather than inserted into `rootIds`. Full-site import applies them to `base.body`; paste-style HTML import can ignore them without changing the fragment structure.
 - `base.link` uses the prop `text` (not `label`). `base.button` uses `label` (not `text`). These match the module source.
-- **Button-like elements keep what they wrap.** `base.button` is `canHaveChildren: false`, so an `a.btn` or a `<button>` wrapping an icon, inline `<svg>` or `<img>` would import as a label-only leaf and lose the rest without saying so. Those recurse instead: a compound `.btn` anchor maps to `base.link` (keeping `href` and `target`), and a compound non-submit `<button>` maps to a `base.container` tagged `button`. Class names ride along as classIds, so `.btn` styling survives the module swap. Submit buttons stay `base.submit` even when compound, because `core/forms` identifies a form's submit control by that module id — so a compound submit button still keeps only its label.
+- **Button-like elements keep what they wrap.** `base.button` is `canHaveChildren: false`, so an `a.btn` or a `<button>` wrapping an icon, inline `<svg>` or `<img>` would import as a label-only leaf and lose the rest without saying so. Those recurse instead: a compound `.btn` anchor maps to `base.link` (keeping `href` and `target`), and a compound non-submit `<button>` maps to a `base.container` tagged `button`. Class names ride along as classIds, so `.btn` styling survives the module swap. Submit buttons stay `base.submit` even when compound, because `core/forms` identifies a form's submit control by that module id; `base.submit` accepts children, so an icon-only submit (an inline `<svg>`, an icon-font `<i>`, an `<img>`) keeps its icon as child nodes and the `label` prop is only the childless fallback.
 - `base.image` captures `src` and the authored `loading` / `decoding` / `fetchpriority` hints (unknown values keep the module defaults). `alt` is not a per-instance prop — it comes from the media library asset — so the walker reports it per node in `WalkResult.imageAlts` (an empty string is a deliberate decorative alt) and Site Import creates the media record with it.
 - **Form elements import as form primitives.** Third-party `<form>` elements default to `base.form` in `custom` mode, so they do not become CMS submission endpoints until an author binds them to a data table. Published CMS-native forms can round-trip their `data-instatic-*` form metadata. Plain labels become `base.label`; labels that wrap controls become a `base.container` with `customTag:'label'` so nested inputs are not dropped.
 - **Void elements** (`<br>`, `<hr>`, etc.) have their own rule that sits before the catch-all. They map to `base.container` with `tag:'custom'` + the real tag name, but with `recurse:false` so the produced node has no children. `<input>` is not part of this fallback anymore; it imports through the form-control rule. The canvas renderer (`ContainerEditor`) also guards against passing children (including the empty-container placeholder) to void element tags, because React throws if you do so.
diff --git a/docs/features/modules.md b/docs/features/modules.md
index b61509d49..687aaa87d 100644
--- a/docs/features/modules.md
+++ b/docs/features/modules.md
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ src/modules/base/
 ├── video/               — base.video (youtube.ts — ID parse + embed URL leaf)
 ├── list/                — base.list (items.ts — textarea item-splitting leaf)
 ├── loop/                — base.loop
-├── forms/               — base.form and form-control primitives
+├── forms/               — base.form and form-control primitives (content.ts: submit children/label rule)
 ├── visualComponentRef/  — base.visual-component-ref
 ├── slotOutlet/          — base.slot-outlet (VC author side)
 ├── slotInstance/        — base.slot-instance (VC consumer side)
diff --git a/docs/reference/module-engine.md b/docs/reference/module-engine.md
index 21142596f..162bcc770 100644
--- a/docs/reference/module-engine.md
+++ b/docs/reference/module-engine.md
@@ -260,6 +260,7 @@ Name the leaf after what it owns, not generically:
 |------------------|-----------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
 | `base.button`    | `anchor.ts`     | `resolveButtonAnchor()` — element decision (`<a>` vs `<button>`) |
 | `base.link`      | `content.ts`    | `linkUsesChildren()` — children/text fallback rule    |
+| `base.submit`    | `forms/content.ts` | `submitUsesChildren()` — children/label fallback rule |
 | `base.list`      | `items.ts`      | `parseItems()` — textarea → trimmed non-empty array   |
 | `base.video`     | `youtube.ts`    | `parseYoutubeId()`, `youtubeEmbedUrl()` — embed URL  |
 | `base.text`      | `tags.ts`       | `normalizeTag()`, `TextTag` — semantic tag coercion   |
@@ -424,6 +425,7 @@ The publisher emits a `<script type="importmap">` entry. `getMissingModuleDepend
   - `src/modules/base/shared/anchorTarget.ts` — `AnchorTargetSchema`, `anchorRel()` (cross-module shared vocabulary)
   - `src/modules/base/button/anchor.ts` — `resolveButtonAnchor()` (per-module shared leaf)
   - `src/modules/base/link/content.ts` — `linkUsesChildren()` (per-module shared leaf)
+  - `src/modules/base/forms/content.ts` — `submitUsesChildren()` (per-module shared leaf)
   - `src/modules/base/list/items.ts` — `parseItems()` (per-module shared leaf)
   - `src/modules/base/video/youtube.ts` — `parseYoutubeId()`, `youtubeEmbedUrl()` (per-module shared leaf)
   - `src/core/htmlAttributes/tags.ts` — `resolveHtmlTag`, `BUILTIN_HTML_TAGS`, `VOID_HTML_ELEMENTS`
diff --git a/src/__tests__/htmlImport/structurePreservation.test.ts b/src/__tests__/htmlImport/structurePreservation.test.ts
index 80d634176..740a0a053 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/htmlImport/structurePreservation.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/htmlImport/structurePreservation.test.ts
@@ -125,12 +125,12 @@ describe('compound buttons keep what they wrap', () => {
     expect(root.children).toHaveLength(0)
   })
 
-  it('a submit button stays base.submit even when compound', () => {
+  it('a compound submit button stays base.submit and keeps its children', () => {
     // core/forms finds a form's submit control by module id, so a compound
-    // submit must not be re-tagged as a container. It keeps only its label.
+    // submit must not be re-tagged as a container; its content recurses.
     const r = importHtml('<form><button><svg viewBox="0 0 1 1"></svg><span>Send</span></button></form>')
     const submit = Object.values(r.nodes).find((n) => n.moduleId === 'base.submit')
     expect(submit).toBeDefined()
-    expect(submit!.children).toHaveLength(0)
+    expect(submit!.children).toHaveLength(2)
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/__tests__/htmlImport/submitButtonChildren.test.ts b/src/__tests__/htmlImport/submitButtonChildren.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff8565930
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/htmlImport/submitButtonChildren.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/**
+ * Icon-only submit buttons keep their icon through import and publish.
+ *
+ * base.submit was a leaf whose only content was the `label` string, with a
+ * 'Submit' fallback when the button had no text. Real markup often puts an
+ * icon there instead of text: a newsletter form's arrow as an inline `<svg>`,
+ * a search box's magnifier as an icon-font `<i>`, an `<img>` of a button
+ * graphic. Every one of them imported and published as the literal word
+ * "Submit". The importer now recurses into submit buttons with element
+ * children, and base.submit renders children when it has them, `label` when
+ * it doesn't: the base.link contract.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'bun:test'
+import '@modules/base'
+import { importHtml } from '@core/htmlImport'
+import { SubmitModule } from '@modules/base/forms'
+
+/** Import `html` and return the base.submit node plus its resolved children. */
+function submitNodeOf(html: string) {
+  const result = importHtml(`<html><body>${html}</body></html>`)
+  const node = Object.values(result.nodes).find((n) => n.moduleId === 'base.submit')
+  if (!node) throw new Error('no base.submit node was produced')
+  return { node, kids: node.children.map((id) => result.nodes[id]!) }
+}
+
+describe('submit buttons with element children recurse', () => {
+  it('keeps an inline <svg> arrow as a base.svg child', () => {
+    const { node, kids } = submitNodeOf(
+      '<form><button type="submit" style="width:45px">' +
+        '<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="13" height="12" viewBox="0 0 13 12">' +
+        '<path d="M7.21 11.7L12.21 6.7"/></svg></button></form>',
+    )
+    expect(kids.length).toBe(1)
+    expect(kids[0]!.moduleId).toBe('base.svg')
+    expect(String(kids[0]!.props.svg)).toContain('<svg')
+    // Label keeps the childless fallback; render ignores it while children exist.
+    expect(node.props.label).toBe('Submit')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps an icon-font <i> child with its classes', () => {
+    const { kids } = submitNodeOf(
+      '<form><button type="submit"><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button></form>',
+    )
+    expect(kids.length).toBe(1)
+    expect(kids[0]!.props.customTag).toBe('i')
+    expect(kids[0]!.classIds).toContain('fa')
+    expect(kids[0]!.classIds).toContain('fa-search')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps an <img> child', () => {
+    const { kids } = submitNodeOf(
+      '<form><button type="submit"><img src="https://example.com/btn-img.svg" alt="Submit"></button></form>',
+    )
+    expect(kids.length).toBe(1)
+    expect(kids[0]!.moduleId).toBe('base.image')
+    expect(kids[0]!.props.src).toBe('https://example.com/btn-img.svg')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the text beside an icon as a base.text child and in the label', () => {
+    const { node, kids } = submitNodeOf(
+      '<form><button type="submit">Send <i class="icon-arrow"></i></button></form>',
+    )
+    expect(kids.length).toBe(2)
+    expect(kids[0]!.moduleId).toBe('base.text')
+    expect(String(kids[0]!.props.text)).toContain('Send')
+    expect(kids[1]!.props.customTag).toBe('i')
+    expect(node.props.label).toBe('Send')
+  })
+
+  it('a text-only submit stays a leaf with its label', () => {
+    const { node, kids } = submitNodeOf('<form><button type="submit">Send</button></form>')
+    expect(kids.length).toBe(0)
+    expect(node.props.label).toBe('Send')
+  })
+
+  it('a typeless button inside a form is treated as a submit and recurses', () => {
+    const { kids } = submitNodeOf(
+      '<form><button><i class="icon-magnifier"></i></button></form>',
+    )
+    expect(kids.length).toBe(1)
+    expect(kids[0]!.props.customTag).toBe('i')
+  })
+})
+
+describe('base.submit render: children win, label is the fallback', () => {
+  const props = { ...SubmitModule.defaults, label: 'Submit', disabled: false, formId: '' }
+
+  it('renders children when present and omits the label', () => {
+    const html = SubmitModule.render!(props, ['<svg viewBox="0 0 13 12"></svg>']).html
+    expect(html).toContain('<svg viewBox="0 0 13 12"></svg>')
+    expect(html).not.toContain('>Submit<')
+    expect(html).toContain('type="submit"')
+  })
+
+  it('renders the label when there are no children', () => {
+    const html = SubmitModule.render!(props, []).html
+    expect(html).toContain('>Submit</button>')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/core/htmlImport/rules.ts b/src/core/htmlImport/rules.ts
index fd0f13ddd..a05c38897 100644
--- a/src/core/htmlImport/rules.ts
+++ b/src/core/htmlImport/rules.ts
@@ -461,9 +461,10 @@ export const HTML_TO_MODULE_RULES: ImportRule[] = [
   // base.button is `canHaveChildren: false` and would keep only the text.
   // Submit buttons stay on base.submit even when compound: `core/forms`
   // identifies a form's submit control by that module id, so re-tagging one as
-  // a container would leave the form without a submit. A compound submit button
-  // therefore still keeps only its label — lifting that needs base.submit to
-  // accept children, which is a module change rather than an importer one.
+  // a container would leave the form without a submit. base.submit accepts
+  // children, so a compound submit recurses too and its content (an icon-only
+  // `<svg>`, an icon-font `<i>`, an `<img>`) survives as child nodes; `label`
+  // stays as the childless fallback, the base.link contract.
   {
     match: 'button',
     map: (el) => {
@@ -494,7 +495,7 @@ export const HTML_TO_MODULE_RULES: ImportRule[] = [
         },
       }
     },
-    recurse: (el) => !isSubmitButton(el) && hasElementChild(el),
+    recurse: hasElementChild,
   },
 
   // ul / ol are BUILTIN_HTML_TAGS for base.container → container + RECURSE.
diff --git a/src/modules/base/forms/FormControls.tsx b/src/modules/base/forms/FormControls.tsx
index c8d6f25cd..6eb694b86 100644
--- a/src/modules/base/forms/FormControls.tsx
+++ b/src/modules/base/forms/FormControls.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { ModuleComponentProps } from '@core/module-engine'
 import { normalizeIdentifierValue } from '@core/utils/identifier'
+import { submitUsesChildren } from './content'
 
 type FormProps = Record<string, unknown> & {
   formId: string
@@ -206,8 +207,9 @@ export function RadioEditor({ mcClassName, nodeWrapperProps, props }: ModuleComp
   )
 }
 
-export function SubmitEditor({ mcClassName, nodeWrapperProps, props }: ModuleComponentProps<SubmitProps>) {
+export function SubmitEditor({ mcClassName, nodeWrapperProps, props, children }: ModuleComponentProps<SubmitProps>) {
   const formId = normalizeIdentifierValue(props.formId)
+  const childCount = Array.isArray(children) ? children.length : children != null ? 1 : 0
   return (
     <button
       {...nodeWrapperProps}
@@ -216,7 +218,7 @@ export function SubmitEditor({ mcClassName, nodeWrapperProps, props }: ModuleCom
       disabled={props.disabled}
       form={formId || undefined}
     >
-      {props.label}
+      {submitUsesChildren(childCount) ? children : props.label}
     </button>
   )
 }
diff --git a/src/modules/base/forms/content.ts b/src/modules/base/forms/content.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..758a7b3a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/modules/base/forms/content.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/**
+ * Content-source decision for `base.submit`, shared by the publisher
+ * `render()` path (`index.ts`) and the canvas preview (`FormControls.tsx`) so
+ * the two cannot drift. Mirrors `base.link`'s `linkUsesChildren` — see
+ * `@modules/base/link/content` for why this is an explicit count check rather
+ * than a `children ?? label` short-circuit (an empty children array is not
+ * nullish).
+ *
+ * Rule: a submit button renders its children whenever it HAS children;
+ * otherwise it falls back to the `label` prop. Imported icon-only submits
+ * (an inline `<svg>` arrow, an icon-font `<i>`, an `<img>`) carry their icon
+ * as real child nodes and must not be flattened to the label text.
+ *
+ * Non-component `.ts` leaf so the editor component can import it without
+ * breaking React Fast Refresh (Constraint #309).
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Whether the submit button should render its own children (`true`) or fall
+ * back to the `label` prop (`false`), given how many rendered children it has.
+ */
+export function submitUsesChildren(childCount: number): boolean {
+  return childCount > 0
+}
diff --git a/src/modules/base/forms/index.ts b/src/modules/base/forms/index.ts
index 053f8c92a..56c8b700d 100644
--- a/src/modules/base/forms/index.ts
+++ b/src/modules/base/forms/index.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import type { ModuleDefinition } from '@core/module-engine'
 import { registry } from '@core/module-engine'
 import { Type, Value, type Static } from '@core/utils/typeboxHelpers'
+import { submitUsesChildren } from './content'
 import { normalizeIdentifierValue } from '@core/utils/identifier'
 import { safeUrl } from '@modules/base/utils/escape'
 import { FORM_RUNTIME_JS } from './formRuntimeJs'
@@ -422,9 +423,12 @@ export const SubmitModule: ModuleDefinition<SubmitProps> = {
   version: '1.0.0',
   icon: SendSolidIcon,
   trusted: true,
-  canHaveChildren: false,
+  // Children carry imported icon-only submit content (an inline `<svg>`,
+  // an icon-font `<i>`, an `<img>`) as real nodes; `label` is the childless
+  // fallback. Same children-vs-text contract as base.link.
+  canHaveChildren: true,
   schema: {
-    label: { type: 'text', label: 'Label' },
+    label: { type: 'text', label: 'Label', placeholder: 'Displayed when no children' },
     disabled: { type: 'toggle', label: 'Disabled' },
     formId: { type: 'text', label: 'Form ID override', normalize: 'identifier' },
   },
@@ -432,9 +436,14 @@ export const SubmitModule: ModuleDefinition<SubmitProps> = {
   defaults: Value.Create(SubmitPropsSchema),
   component: SubmitEditor,
   htmlTag: 'button',
-  render: (props) => ({
-    html: `<button type="submit"${attrs([['form', normalizeIdentifierValue(props.formId)]])}${booleanAttrs(props, ['disabled'])}>${props.label}</button>`,
-  }),
+  render: (props, renderedChildren) => {
+    const content = submitUsesChildren(renderedChildren.length)
+      ? renderedChildren.join('')
+      : props.label
+    return {
+      html: `<button type="submit"${attrs([['form', normalizeIdentifierValue(props.formId)]])}${booleanAttrs(props, ['disabled'])}>${content}</button>`,
+    }
+  },
 }
 
 export const FormMessageModule: ModuleDefinition<FormMessageProps> = {