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HTML Example

<h1>My First Heading</h1>

<p>My first paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

What is HTML?

HTML is a language for describing web pages.

HTML stands for Hyper TextMarkup LanguageHTML is not a programming language, it is a markup languageA markup language is a set of markup tagsHTML 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 tagStart and end tags are also called opening tags and closing tags.

HTML Documents - Web Pages

HTML documents describe web pagesHTML documents contain HTML tags and plain textHTML documents are also called web pages

The purpose of a web browsers (like Internet Explorer) 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 pageThe text between <body> and </body> is the visible page contentThe text between <h1> and </h1> is displayed as a headingThe text between <p> and </p> is displayed as a paragraph

HTML - Getting Started

What Do You Need?

You don't need any tools to learn HTML at W3Schools.

You don't need any HTML editorYou don't need a web serverYou don't need a web site

Editing HTML

In this tutorial we use a plain text editor (like Notepad) to edit HTML. We believe this is the best way to learn HTML.

However, professional web developers often prefer HTML editors like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, instead of writing plain text.

Creating Your Own Test Web

If you just want to learn HTML, skip the rest of this chapter.

If you want to create a test web on your own computer, just copy the 3 files below to your desktop.

(Right click on each link, and select "save target as" or "save link as")

After you have copied the files, you can double-click on the file called "mainpage.htm" and see your first web site in action.

Use Your Test Web For Learning

We suggest you experiment with everything you learn at W3Schools by editing your web files with a text editor (like Notepad).

Note: If your first web site contains HTML markup tags you have not learned yet, don't panic. You will learn much more HTML in the next chapters.

HTM or HTML Extension?

When you save an HTML file, you can use either the .htm or the .html extension. We use .htm in our examples. It is a habit from the past, when the software only allowed three letters in file extensions.

With new software it is perfectly safe to use .html.

Basic HTML Examples

Don't worry if the examples below use tags you have not learned yet. You will learn about it in the next chapters.

HTML Headings

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

<h1>This is a heading</h1>

<h2>This is a heading</h2>

<h3>This is a heading</h3>

HTML Paragraphs

HTML paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag.

<p>This is a paragraph</p>

<p>This is another paragraph</p>

HTML Links

HTML links are defined with the <a> tag.

Note: The <a> tag contains an attribute (href) to provide the link address.

HTML Images

HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.

Note: The name of the image and the size are provided as attributes.

HTML Headings

Headings are important in HTML documents.

HTML Headings

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

<h1> defines the largest heading. <h6> defines the smallest heading.

<h1>This is a heading</h1>

<h2>This is a heading</h2>

<h3>This is a heading</h3>

Note: Browsers automatically adds an empty line before and after headings.

Headings Are Important

Use the HTML heading tags for headings only. Don't use headings to make something 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, and less important H3 headings, and so on.

HTML Comments

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

Comments are written like this:

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, click the VIEW option in your browser's toolbar and select SOURCE or PAGE SOURCE. This will open a window that shows you the HTML code of the page.

HTML Tag Reference

When you lookup W3Schools' tag reference, you will see additional information about tags and their attributes.

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

Tag

Description

<html>

Defines an HTML document

<body>

Defines the document's body

Defines header 1 to header 6

<! -->

Defines a comment

HTML Paragraphs

HTML documents are divided into paragraphs.

HTML Paragraphs

Paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag.

<p>This is a paragraph</p>

<p>This is another paragraph</p>

Note: Browsers automatically adds an empty line before and after paragraphs.

Don't Forget the End Tag

Most browsers will display HTML correctly even if you forget the end tag:

<p>This is a paragraph

<p>This is another paragraph

The example above will work in most browsers, but don't rely on it. Forgetting the end tag can produce unexpected results or errors.

Note: Future version of HTML will not allow you to skip end tags.

HTML Line Breaks

Use the <br /> tag if you want a line break (a new line) without starting a new paragraph:

<p>This is<br />a para<br />graph with line breaks</p>

The <br /> tag is an empty tag. It has no end tag like </br>.

You can read more about empty HTML tags in the next chapters of this tutorial.

<br> or <br />

In XHTML, XML, and future versions of HTML, tags with no end tags (closing tags) are not allowed.

Even if <br> works in all browsers, writing <br /> instead is more future proof.

HTML Rules (Lines)

The <hr /> tag is used to create an horizontal rule (line).

Example:

<p>This is a paragraph</p>

<hr />

<p>This is a paragraph</p>

<hr />

<p>This is a paragraph</p>

HTML Output - Useful Tips

You cannot be sure how HTML will be displayed. Large or small screens, and resized windows will create different results.

With HTML, you cannot change the output by adding extra spaces or extra lines in your HTML code.

The browser will remove extra spaces and extra lines when the page is displayed. Any number of lines count as one space, and any number of spaces count as one space.

HTML Tag Reference

When you lookup W3Schools' tag reference, you will see additional information about tags and their attributes.

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

Tag

Description

<p>

Defines a paragraph

<br />

Inserts a single line break

<hr>

Defines a horizontal rule

HTML Text Formatting

HTML Text Formatting

This text is bold

This text is big

This text is italic

This is computer output

This is_subscript and ^superscript

HTML Formatting Tags

HTML uses tags like <b> and <i> for formatting output, like bold or italic text.

These HTML tags are called formatting tags.

Refer to the bottom of this page for a complete reference.

Text Formatting Tags

Tag

Description

<b>

Defines bold text

<big>

Defines big text

<em>

Defines emphasized text

<i>

Defines italic text

<small>

Defines small text

Defines strong text

<sub>

Defines subscripted text

<sup>

Defines superscripted text

<ins>

Defines inserted text

<del>

Defines deleted text

<s>

Deprecated. Use <del> instead

Deprecated. Use <del> instead

<u>

Deprecated. Use styles instead

"Computer Output" Tags

Tag

Description

<code>

Defines computer code text

<kbd>

Defines keyboard text

<samp>

Defines sample computer code

<tt>

Defines teletype text

<var>

Defines a variable

<pre>

Defines preformatted text

Deprecated. Use <pre> instead

Deprecated. Use <pre> instead

<xmp>

Deprecated. Use <pre> instead

Citations, Quotations, and Definition Tags

Tag

Description

<abbr>

Defines an abbreviation

Defines an acronym

Defines an address element

<bdo>

Defines the text direction

Defines a long quotation

<q>

Defines a short quotation

<cite>

Defines a citation

<dfn>

Defines a definition term

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>

This is a link

</a>

HTML Element Syntax

An HTML element starts with a start tagAn HTML element ends with an end tagThe element content is everything between the start and end tagSome HTML elements have empty contentSome HTML elements have a missing end tag

Note: The start tag can have additional information (attributes). See next chapter.

Nested HTML Elements

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

Most 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:

<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

<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 element (a paragraph)

<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 element (the body)

Empty HTML Elements

HTML elements without content are called empty elements. Empty elements have no end tag.

<br /> is an empty element without a closing tag.

In XHTML, XML, and future versions of HTML, all elements must be closed.

Adding a slash to the start tag, like <br />, is the proper way of closing empty elements, accepted by HTML, XHTML and XML.

Even if <br> works in all browsers, writing <br /> instead is more future proof.

HTML Tip - Lowercase Tags

HTML tags are not case sensitive: <P> means the same as <p>. Plenty of web sites use uppercase HTML tags in their pages.

W3Schools use lowercase tags because the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase in HTML 4, and demands lowercase tags in newer versions of (X)HTML.

HTML Attributes

Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.

HTML Attributes

HTML elements can have attributesAttributes provide additional information about the elementAttributes are always specified in the start tag

Attribute Syntax

Attributes always come in name/value pairs like this: name="value".

Examples

border="1"

href="http://www.w3scchools.com"

bgcolor="yellow"

Attributes Example 1:

<table> defines an HTML table. (You will learn more about HTML tables later)

The border attribute defines a border type for the <table> element.

Attributes Example 2:

<a> defines an anchor (an HTML link). (You will learn more about HTML links later)

The href attribute provides the link address for the <a> element.

Attributes Example 3:

<body> defines the body of an HTML document.

The bgcolor attribute defines the background color for the <body> element.

Note: bgcolor is a "dying" attribute, use styles instead (next chapter).

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.

In some rare situations, like 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 full list of attributes for each HTML element is listed in our:

Complete HTML Reference

Below is a list of some attributes that are standard for all HTML elements (with a few exceptions):

Attribute

Value

Description

class

class_rule or style_rule

The class of the element

id_name

A unique id for the element

style

style_definition

An inline style definition

title

tooltip_text

A text to display in a tool tip

For more information about standard attributes:

HTML Styles

The style attribute is a new HTML attribute. It introduces CSS to HTML.

Look! Styles and colors

This text is in Verdana and red

This text is in Times and green

This text is 30 pixels high

The HTML Style Attribute

The purpose of the style attribute is:

To provide a common way to style all HTML elements.

Styles was introduced with HTML 4, as the new and preferred way to style HTML elements. With HTML styles, styles can be added to HTML elements directly by using the style attribute, or indirectly by in separate style sheets (CSS files).

You can learn everything about styles and CSS in our CSS tutorial.

In our HTML tutorial we use the style attribute to introduce you to HTML styles.

HTML Style Examples

style="background-color:yellow"

style="font-size:10px"

style="font-family:Times"

style="text-align:center"

Deprecated Tags and Attributes

In HTML 4, some tags and attributes are defined as deprecated. Deprecated means that they will not be supported in future versions of HTML and XHTML.

The message is clear: Avoid the use of deprecated tags and attributes.

These tags and attributes should be avoided:

Tags

Description

Defines centered content

Defines HTML fonts

Defines strikeout text

<u>

Defines underlined text

Attributes

align

Defines the alignment of text

bgcolor

Defines the background color

color

Defines the text color

For all the above: Use styles instead.

Style Examples:

Background Color

<body style="background-color:yellow">

The style attribute defines a style for the <body> element.

The new style attribute makes the "old" bgcolor attribute obsolete.

Font Family, Color and Size

<p style="font-family:courier new; color:red; font-size:20px">

The new style attribute makes the old <font> tag obsolete.

Text Alignment

<h1 style="text-align:center">

The style attribute defines a style for the <h1> element.

The new style attribute makes the old "align" attribute obsolete.

HTML Links

A link is the "address" to a document (or a resource) on the web.

Hyperlinks, Anchors, and Links

In web terms, a hyperlink is a reference (an address) to a resource on the web.

Hyperlinks can point to any resource on the web: an HTML page, an image, a sound file, a movie, etc.

An anchor is a term used to define a hyperlink destination inside a document.

The HTML anchor element <a>, is used to define both hyperlinks and anchors.

We will use the term HTML link when the <a> element points to a resource, and the term HTML anchor when the <a> elements defines an address inside a document..

An HTML Link

Link syntax:

The start tag contains attributes about the link.

The element content (Link text) defines the part to be displayed.

Note: The element content don't have to be a text. You can link from an image or any other HTML element.

The href Attribute

The href attribute defines the link "address".

This <a> element defines a link to W3Schools:

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/">Visit W3Schools!</a>

The code above will display like this in a browser:

Visit W3Schools!

The target Attribute

The target attribute defines where the linked document will be opened.

The code below will open the document in a new browser window:

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/"

target="_blank">Visit W3Schools!</a>

Try it yourself

The name Attribute

When the name attribute is used, the <a> element defines a named anchor inside a HTML document.

Named anchor are not displayed in any special way. They are invisible to the reader.

Named anchor syntax:

<a name="label">Any content</a>

The link syntax to a named anchor:

<a href="#label">Any content</a>

The # in the href attribute defines a link to a named anchor.

Example:

A named anchor inside an HTML document:

<a name="tips">Useful Tips Section</a>

A link to the Useful Tips Section from the same document:

Jump to the Useful Tips Section</a>

A link to the Useful Tips Section from another document:

Jump to the Useful Tips Section</a>

Basic Notes - Useful Tips

Always add a trailing slash to subfolder references. If you link like this: href="http://www.w3schools.com/html", you will generate two HTTP requests to the server, because the server will add a slash to the address and create a new request like this: href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/"

Named anchors are often used to create "table of contents" at the beginning of a large document. Each chapter within the document is given a named anchor, and links to each of these anchors are put at the top of the document.

If a browser cannot find a named anchor that has been specified, it goes to the top of the document. No error occurs.

Link Tags

Tag

Description

<a>

Defines an anchor

HTML Forms and Input

HTML Forms are used to select different kinds of user input.

Forms

A form is an area that can contain form elements.

Form elements are elements that allow the user to enter information (like text fields, textarea fields, drop-down menus, radio buttons, checkboxes, etc.) in a form.

A form is defined with the <form> tag.

<form>

<input>

</form>

Input

The most used form tag is the <input> tag. The type of input is specified with the type attribute. The most commonly used input types are explained below.

Text Fields

Text fields are used when you want the user to type letters, numbers, etc. in a form.

<form>

First name:

<br>

Last name:

</form>

How it looks in a browser:

First name:
Last name:

Note that the form itself is not visible. Also note that in most browsers, the width of the text field is 20 characters by default.

Radio Buttons

Radio Buttons are used when you want the user to select one of a limited number of choices.

<form>

<input type="radio" name="sex" value="male"> Male

<br>

<input type="radio" name="sex" value="female"> Female

</form>

How it looks in a browser:

Male
Female

Note that only one option can be chosen.

Checkboxes

Checkboxes are used when you want the user to select one or more options of a limited number of choices.

<form>

I have a bike:

<br>

I have a car:

<br>

I have an airplane:

</form>

How it looks in a browser:

I have a bike:
I have a car:
I have an airplane:

The Form's Action Attribute and the Submit Button

When the user clicks on the "Submit" button, the content of the form is sent to the server. The form's action attribute defines the name of the file to send the content to. The file defined in the action attribute usually does something with the received input.

<form name="input" action="html_form_submit.asp"

method="get">

Username:

</form>

How it looks in a browser:

Username:

If you type some characters in the text field above, and click the "Submit" button, the browser will send your input to a page called "html_form_submit.asp". The page will show you the received input.

Form Tags

Tag

Description

<form>

Defines a form for user input

<input>

Defines an input field

Defines a text-area (a multi-line text input control)

<label>

Defines a label to a control

Defines a fieldset

Defines a caption for a fieldset

Defines a selectable list (a drop-down box)

Defines an option group

Defines an option in the drop-down box

Defines a push button

Deprecated. Use <input> instead

HTML Images

With HTML you can display images in a document.

The Image Tag and the Src Attribute

In HTML, images are defined with the <img> tag.

The <img> tag is empty, which means that it contains attributes only and it has no closing tag.

To display an image on a page, you need to use the src attribute. Src stands for "source". The value of the src attribute is the URL of the image you want to display on your page.

The syntax of defining an image:

The URL points to the location where the image is stored. An image named "boat.gif" located in the directory "images" on "www.w3schools.com" has the URL: http://www.w3schools.com/images/boat.gif.

The browser puts the image where the image tag occurs in the document. If you put an image tag between two paragraphs, the browser shows the first paragraph, then the image, and then the second paragraph.

The Alt Attribute

The alt attribute is used to define an "alternate text" for an image. The value of the alt attribute is an author-defined text:

The "alt" attribute tells the reader what he or she is missing on a page if the browser can't load images. The browser will then display the alternate text instead of the image. It is a good practice to include the "alt" attribute for each image on a page, to improve the display and usefulness of your document for people who have text-only browsers.

Basic Notes - Useful Tips

If an HTML file contains ten images - eleven files are required to display the page right. Loading images take time, so my best advice is: Use images carefully.

Image Tags

Tag

Description

<img>

Defines an image

<map>

Defines an image map

<area>

Defines a clickable area inside an image map

HTML Tables

HTML Tables

Apples

44%

Bananas

23%

Oranges

13%

Other

10%

Tables

Tables are defined with the <table> tag. A table is divided into rows (with the <tr> tag), and each row is divided into data cells (with the <td> tag). The letters td stands for "table data," which is the content of a data cell. A data cell can contain text, images, lists, paragraphs, forms, horizontal rules, tables, etc.

<tr>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

</table>

How it looks in a browser:

row 1, cell 1

row 1, cell 2

row 2, cell 1

row 2, cell 2

Tables and the Border Attribute

If you do not specify a border attribute the table will be displayed without any borders. Sometimes this can be useful, but most of the time, you want the borders to show.

To display a table with borders, you will have to use the border attribute:

<tr>

</tr>

</table>

Headings in a Table

Headings in a table are defined with the <th> tag.

<tr>

<th>Heading</th>

<th>Another Heading</th>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

</table>

How it looks in a browser:

Heading

Another Heading

row 1, cell 1

row 1, cell 2

row 2, cell 1

row 2, cell 2

Empty Cells in a Table

Table cells with no content are not displayed very well in most browsers.

<tr>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

</table>

How it looks in a browser:

row 1, cell 1

row 1, cell 2

row 2, cell 1

Note that the borders around the empty table cell are missing (NB! Mozilla Firefox displays the border).

To avoid this, add a non-breaking space ( ) to empty data cells, to make the borders visible:

<tr>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

</table>

How it looks in a browser:

row 1, cell 1

row 1, cell 2

row 2, cell 1

Basic Notes - Useful Tips

The <thead>,<tbody> and <tfoot> elements are seldom used, because of bad browser support. Expect this to change in future versions of XHTML. If you have Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer, you can view a working example in our XML tutorial.

Table Tags

Tag

Description

<table>

Defines a table

<th>

Defines a table header

<tr>

Defines a table row

<td>

Defines a table cell

Defines a table caption

Defines groups of table columns

<col>

Defines the attribute values for one or more columns in a table

<thead>

Defines a table head

<tbody>

Defines a table body

<tfoot>

Defines a table footer

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