| Tag |
What it is |
When to use it |
|
<a> |
Anchor (most commonly a link) |
Vital. Use to create links in content. Use the title attribute whenever the contents of the <a>…</a>
pair do not accurately describe what you’ll get from selecting the
link. Title attribute often displays as a tooltip in visual browsers,
which may be a helpful usability aid. |
|
<abbr> |
Defines an abbreviation |
Works in a similar way to <dfn> and <acronym>, using a title attribute (displays a tooltip in standard visual browsers). e.g. <abbr title=”Hypertext markup language”>HTML</abbr> |
|
<ACRONYM> |
Defines an acronym |
Works in a similar way to <abbr> and <dfn>, using a title attribute (displays a tooltip in standard visual browsers). |
|
<ADDRESS> |
Used for marking up a physical (e.g. mailing) address |
Not commonly used. Recommend looking into microformats, which allow for more detail and interoperability. |
|
<APPLET> |
Inserts a Java applet |
The old way to insert a Java app. Use <object> instead today. |
|
<AREA> |
Hotspot in image map |
Avoid image maps where possible. Occasionally necessary. |
|
<BASE> |
Specifies the base location of the document. |
Use only when necessary. Adjusts any relative links and paths within the document. |
|
<BASEFONT> |
Sets default font size |
Display info – never use it |
|
<BIG> |
Larger text |
Display info – never use it |
|
<BLINK> |
Makes text blink |
You go to hell if you use this |
|
<BLOCKQUOTE> |
Large quoted block of text |
Use for any quoted text that constitutes one or more paragraphs (note: should contain <p> tags as well). Use <q> for quotations within a paragraph. Often used in conjunction with <cite> to cite the quotation’s source. |
|
<BODY> |
Document body |
Essential (unless you’re using frames) |
|
<BR> |
Line break |
This is arguably display information. Still in common use, but use with restraint. |
|
<B> |
Bold text |
Display info – never use it |
|
<BUTTON> |
Used for a standard clickable button within a form |
Often better than <input type=”button” /> or <input type=”submit” />,
as it allows you to assign different styles based on the HTML element
alone, whereas differentiating style based on the type of input is less
well supported. |
|
<CAPTION> |
Caption for a table: describes the table’s contents |
The correct way to assign a title to a table |
|
<CENTER> |
Centred block |
Display info – never use it. Use <div> or some other block-level tag with the style text-align:center instead |
|
<CITE> |
Defines a citation |
Defines the source of a quotation (in conjunction with content in <q> or <blockquote> pairs). |
|
<CODE> |
Defines an extract of code |
Not commonly used. Similar to <pre> tag, but collapses consecutive white spaces and line breaks in the source. |
|
<COL> |
Identifies a particular column in a table |
Can be very useful. e.g. <col class=”namecol”> can
be applied to each first column in a series of tables, then the width
of each column may be set to be equal in the stylesheet, overriding the
table’s natural tendency to adjust its own column widths to fit its
contents. |
|
<DFN> |
Definition of a term |
Works in a similar way to <abbr> and <acronym>, using a title attribute (displays a tooltip in standard visual browsers). |
|
<DIR> |
Directory list |
Now deprecated. Use a standard <ul> or other list instead. |
|
<DIV> |
Division |
Specifies a logical division within a document. Use it to separate or
identify chunks of content that are not otherwise distinguished
naturally using other tags. One of the most common HTML tags. |
|
<DL> |
Definition list |
Contains one or more definition-term / definition-description pairs. |
|
<DT> |
Definition term |
Used as part of a <dt></dt><dd></dd> pair within a definition list (<dl></dl>) |
|
<DD> |
Definition description |
|
|
<EM> |
Emphasis |
Commonly used in place of the old <i> (italics) tag to indicate emphasis (but less than <strong>) |
|
<FONT> |
Font settings |
Display info – never use it |
|
<FORM> |
Input form |
Essential for data input |
|
<H1> |
Level 1 header |
Aim to have one H1 on each page, containing a description of what the page is about. |
|
<H2> |
Level 2 header |
Defines a section of the page |
|
<H3> |
Level 3 header |
Defines a sub-section of the page (should always follow an H2 in the logical hierarchy) |
|
<H4> |
Level 4 header |
Etc. Less commonly used |
|
<H5> |
Level 5 header |
Less commonly used. Only complex academic documents will break down to this level of detail. |
|
<H6> |
Level 6 header |
Less commonly used |
|
<HEAD> |
Document head |
Essential. Contains information about a page that does not constitute content to be communicated as part of the page. |
|
<HR> |
Horizontal rule |
Display info with no semantic value – never use it. “Horizontal”, by definition, is a visual attribute. |
|
<HTML> |
|
Core element of every web page. |
|
<IMG > |
Show an image |
Vital. Always use the alt or longdesc attributes when the image has content value |
|
<INPUT> |
Input fields within forms |
Vital. (I prefer to use <button> for buttons and submit buttons though) |
|
<ISINDEX> |
Old type of search input |
Not really used any more. Use <form> instead. |
|
<I> |
Italicised text |
Display info – never use it |
|
<KBD> |
Keyboard input |
Display info – never use it |
|
<LINK> |
Defines a relationship to another document |
Commonly used to reference external stylesheets, but has other minor uses |
|
<LI> |
List item |
Specifies an item in an unordered or ordered list (<ul> or <ol>) |
|
<MAP> |
Client-side imagemap |
May have occasional value, but only use when absolutely necessary |
|
<MARQUEE> |
Makes text scroll across the screen |
See <blink> |
|
<MENU> |
Menu item list |
Deprecated. Do not use. Use other standard list types instead. |
|
<META> |
Meta-information |
Useful way to insert relevant information into the <head> section of the page that does not need to be displayed. |
|
<OL> |
Ordered list |
Type of list where the order of elements has some meaning. Generally rendered with item numbers (best managed with CSS). |
|
<OPTION> |
Selection list option |
Vital for options within a drop-down control. |
|
<PARAM> |
Parameter for Java applet |
Used in conjunction with an <object> or <applet> tag to pass additional setting information at runtime. |
|
<PRE> |
Preformatted text |
Renders text in a pre-formatted style, preserving line breaks and all spaces present in the source. May be useful. (This
one’s a paradox, as it is strictly display info that applies only to
visual browsing, but it’s still so commonly used and useful that I’m
hesitant to advise against using it.) |
|
<P> |
Paragraph |
Only use to denote a paragraph of text. Never use for spacing alone. |
|
<Q> |
Short quotation |
Use for inline quotations (whereas <blockquote> should be used for quotations of a paragraph or more). Often used in conjunction with <cite> to cite the quotation’s source. |
|
<SAMP> |
Denotes sample output text |
Similar to the <code> tag. Rarely used. Avoid. |
|
<SCRIPT> |
Inline script (e.g. JavaScript) |
It’s better to have all scripts as separate files than to write inline or in the <head> section, however still has its uses. |
|
<SELECT> |
Selection list |
A drop-down selector for a form. |
|
<SMALL> |
Smaller text |
Display info – never use it |
|
<SPAN> |
An inline span within text |
Use to apply meaning (and style) to a span of text that goes with the flow of content (whereas a <div> tag is block-level and breaks the flow) |
|
<Strikeout> |
|
Display info – never use it |
|
<STRONG> |
Strong emphasis |
Use this instead of the old <b> tag. |
|
<STYLE> |
CSS style settings |
Normally used in <head> section of a page. Try to use external stylesheets, to enable you to apply different styles for different output media. |
|
<SUB> |
Subscript text |
Arguably display info – recommend using alternative tags (e.g. <cite>). May be required in some academic uses, e.g. Chemical formulas. |
|
<SUP> |
Superscript text |
|
|
<TABLE> |
Table |
Use for repeated data that has a naturally tabular form. Never use for layout purposes. |
|
<TD> |
Table data cell |
A cell containing actual data. If a cell actually contains a descriptor or identifier for a row or column, use a <th> (table header) tag, not a <td>. This usually applies to column headers (within a <thead>), column footers (within a <tfoot>), as well as row headers (usually the first cell in a row in the <tbody>). |
|
<TEXTAREA> |
Multi-line text input area in a form |
Essential |
|
<TH> |
Table column or row header cell |
May appear in a <thead> (to denote a column header cell), <tbody> (to denote a row header), and in <tfoot> (to denote a column foot cell, e.g. a total) |
|
<TBODY> |
Indicates the main body of a data table |
It is always worth using this tag, as well as using <thead> and <tfoot> where appropriate. Note that it is permissible to have more than one <tbody>, <thead>, and <tfoot> in the same table. |
|
<THEAD> |
The head section of a table |
The place to put column header cells (<th>) |
|
<TFOOT> |
The foot section of a table |
Good place to put e.g. summary data, such as totals. Note that it goes before the <tbody> tag! |
|
<TITLE> |
Document title |
Essential |
|
<TR> |
Table row |
Essential with tables |
|
<TT> |
“Teletype” - simulates typewriter output |
Similar to <pre>, except that it collapses white space like
normal HTML (whereas <pre> leaves all consecutive white space
intact). Avoid if possible |
|
<UL> |
Unordered list |
Essential. Use for lists where the order or items has no particular importance. |
|
<U> |
Underline text |
Display info – never use it |
|
<VAR> |
Variable in computer code |
Obscure tag, may only be useful in academic documents. Avoid. |
