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What Is HTML?

HTML is a markup language used to define the structure and layout of web pages. Key points about HTML include: - HTML uses tags like <h1> and <p> to mark up elements on a web page like headings and paragraphs. - A web browser reads an HTML document and displays it as a web page, without displaying the HTML tags. - Common HTML elements include headings, paragraphs, links, images and line breaks. Attributes provide additional information about elements.

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56 views9 pages

What Is HTML?

HTML is a markup language used to define the structure and layout of web pages. Key points about HTML include: - HTML uses tags like <h1> and <p> to mark up elements on a web page like headings and paragraphs. - A web browser reads an HTML document and displays it as a web page, without displaying the HTML tags. - Common HTML elements include headings, paragraphs, links, images and line breaks. Attributes provide additional information about elements.

Uploaded by

sarab_dua
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is HTML?

HTML is a language for describing web pages.

 HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language


 HTML is not a programming language, it is a markup language
 A markup language is a set of markup tags
 HTML uses markup tags to describe web pages

HTML Tags
HTML markup tags are usually called HTML tags

 HTML tags are keywords surrounded by angle brackets like <html>


 HTML tags normally come in pairs like <b> and </b>
 The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag
 Start and end tags are also called opening tags and closing tags

HTML Documents = Web Pages


 HTML documents describe web pages
 HTML documents contain HTML tags and plain text
 HTML documents are also called web pages

The purpose of a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) is to read HTML documents and
display them as web pages. The browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses the tags to
interpret the content of the page:

<html>
<body>

<h1>My First Heading</h1>

<p>My first paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

Example Explained
 The text between <html> and </html> describes the web page
 The text between <body> and </body> is the visible page content
 The text between <h1> and </h1> is displayed as a heading
 The text between <p> and </p> is displayed as a paragraph

HTML Headings
HTML headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.

Example
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<h2>This is a heading</h2>
<h3>This is a heading</h3>

Try it yourself »

HTML Paragraphs
HTML paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag.

Example
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>

Try it yourself »

HTML Links
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag.

Example
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com">This is a link</a>

HTML Images
HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.

Example
<img src="w3schools.jpg" width="104" height="142" />

HTML documents are defined by HTML elements.

HTML Elements
An HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag:

Start tag * Element content End tag *

<p> This is a paragraph </p>

<a href="default.htm" > This is a link </a>

<br />    

* The start tag is often called the opening tag. The end tag is often called the closing tag.

HTML Element Syntax


 An HTML element starts with a start tag / opening tag
 An HTML element ends with an end tag / closing tag
 The element content is everything between the start and the end tag
 Some HTML elements have empty content
 Empty elements are closed in the start tag
 Most HTML elements can have attributes

Nested HTML Elements


Most HTML elements can be nested (can contain other HTML elements).

HTML documents consist of nested HTML elements.

HTML Document Example


<html>

<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>

</html>

The example above contains 3 HTML elements.

HTML Example Explained


The <p> element:

<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>

The <p> element defines a paragraph in the HTML document.


The element has a start tag <p> and an end tag </p>.
The element content is: This is my first paragraph.

The <body> element:

<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>

The <body> element defines the body of the HTML document.


The element has a start tag <body> and an end tag </body>.
The element content is another HTML element (a p element).

The <html> element:

<html>

<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>

</html>

The <html> element defines the whole HTML document.


The element has a start tag <html> and an end tag </html>.
The element content is another HTML element (the body element).

Don't Forget the End Tag


Some HTML elements might display correctly even if you forget the end tag:

<p>This is a paragraph
<p>This is a paragraph

The example above works in most browsers, because the closing tag is considered optional.

Never rely on this. Many HTML elements will produce unexpected results and/or errors if you forget
the end tag .

Empty HTML Elements


HTML elements with no content are called empty elements.

<br> is an empty element without a closing tag (the <br> tag defines a line break).

Tip: In XHTML, all elements must be closed. Adding a slash inside the start tag, like <br />, is the
proper way of closing empty elements in XHTML (and XML).

HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Tags


HTML tags are not case sensitive: <P> means the same as <p>. Many web sites use uppercase HTML
tags.

W3Schools use lowercase tags because the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) recommendslowercase in HTML 4, and demands lowercase tags in XHTML.

HTML Attributes
« Previous Next Chapter »

Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.

HTML Attributes
 HTML elements can have attributes
 Attributes provide additional information about an element
 Attributes are always specified in the start tag
 Attributes come in name/value pairs like: name="value"
Attribute Example
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag. The link address is specified in the href attribute:

Example
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com">This is a link</a>

Try it yourself »

Always Quote Attribute Values


Attribute values should always be enclosed in quotes.

Double style quotes are the most common, but single style quotes are also allowed.

 Tip: In some rare situations, when the attribute value itself contains quotes, it is necessary to use
single quotes: name='John "ShotGun" Nelson'

HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Attributes


Attribute names and attribute values are case-insensitive.

However, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase attributes/attribute values
in their HTML 4 recommendation.

Newer versions of (X)HTML will demand lowercase attributes.

HTML Attributes Reference


A complete list of legal attributes for each HTML element is listed in our:

Complete HTML Reference

Below is a list of some attributes that are standard for most HTML elements:

Attribute Value Description

class classname Specifies a classname for an element


id id Specifies a unique id for an element

style style_definition Specifies an inline style for an element

title tooltip_text  Specifies extra information about an element (displayed as a


tool tip)

For more information about standard attributes:

HTML Standard Attributes Reference

Headings are important in HTML documents.

HTML Headings
Headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.

<h1> defines the most important heading. <h6> defines the least important heading.

Example
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<h2>This is a heading</h2>
<h3>This is a heading</h3>

Try it yourself »

Note: Browsers automatically add some empty space (a margin) before and after each heading.

Headings Are Important


Use HTML headings for headings only. Don't use headings to make text BIG or bold.

Search engines use your headings to index the structure and content of your web pages.

Since users may skim your pages by its headings, it is important to use headings to show the
document structure.
H1 headings should be used as main headings, followed by H2 headings, then the less important H3
headings, and so on.

HTML Lines
The <hr /> tag creates a horizontal line in an HTML page.

The hr element can be used to separate content:

Example
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<hr />
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<hr />
<p>This is a paragraph</p>

Try it yourself »

HTML Comments
Comments can be inserted into the HTML code to make it more readable and understandable.
Comments are ignored by the browser and are not displayed.

Comments are written like this:

Example
<!-- This is a comment -->

Try it yourself »

Note: There is an exclamation point after the opening bracket, but not before the closing bracket.

HTML Tip - How to View HTML Source


Have you ever seen a Web page and wondered "Hey! How did they do that?"
To find out, right-click in the page and select "View Source" (IE) or "View Page Source" (Firefox), or
similar for other browsers. This will open a window containing the HTML code of the page.

Examples From This Page

Headings

Hidden comments
How to insert comments in the HTML source code.

Horizontal lines
How to insert a horizontal line.

HTML Tag Reference


W3Schools' tag reference contains additional information about these tags and their attributes.

You will learn more about HTML tags and attributes in the next chapters of this tutorial.

Tag Description

<html> Defines an HTML document

<body> Defines the document's body

<h1> to <h6> Defines HTML headings

<hr /> Defines a horizontal line

<!--> Defines a comment

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