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HTML Element Reference - By Category


Basic HTML

Tag Description
<!DOCTYPE>  Defines the document type
<html> Defines an HTML document
<head> Defines information about the document
<title> Defines a title for the document
<body> Defines the document's body
<h1> to <h6> Defines HTML headings
<p> Defines a paragraph
<br> Inserts a single line break
<hr> Defines a thematic change in the content
<!--...--> Defines a comment

Formatting

Tag Description
<acronym> Not supported in HTML5. Use <abbr> instead.
Defines an acronym
<abbr> Defines an abbreviation or an acronym
<address> Defines contact information for the author/owner of a document/article
<b> Defines bold text
<bdi> Isolates a part of text that might be formatted in a different direction from other text outside it
<bdo> Overrides the current text direction
<big> Not supported in HTML5. Use CSS instead.
Defines big text
<blockquote> Defines a section that is quoted from another source
<center> Not supported in HTML5. Use CSS instead.
Defines centered text
<cite> Defines the title of a work
<code> Defines a piece of computer code
<del> Defines text that has been deleted from a document
<dfn> Represents the defining instance of a term
<em> Defines emphasized text 
<font> Not supported in HTML5. Use CSS instead.
Defines font, color, and size for text
<i> Defines a part of text in an alternate voice or mood
<ins> Defines a text that has been inserted into a document
<kbd> Defines keyboard input
<mark> Defines marked/highlighted text
<meter> Defines a scalar measurement within a known range (a gauge)
<pre> Defines preformatted text
<progress> Represents the progress of a task
<q> Defines a short quotation
<rp> Defines what to show in browsers that do not support ruby annotations
<rt> Defines an explanation/pronunciation of characters (for East Asian typography)
<ruby> Defines a ruby annotation (for East Asian typography)
<s> Defines text that is no longer correct
<samp> Defines sample output from a computer program
<small> Defines smaller text
<strike> Not supported in HTML5. Use <del> or <s> instead.
Defines strikethrough text
<strong> Defines important text
<sub> Defines subscripted text
<sup> Defines superscripted text
<template> Defines a template
<time> Defines a date/time
<tt> Not supported in HTML5. Use CSS instead.
Defines teletype text
<u> Defines text that should be stylistically different from normal text
<var> Defines a variable
<wbr> Defines a possible line-break


Forms and Input

Tag Description
<form> Defines an HTML form for user input
<input> Defines an input control
<textarea> Defines a multiline input control (text area)
<button> Defines a clickable button
<select> Defines a drop-down list
<optgroup> Defines a group of related options in a drop-down list
<option> Defines an option in a drop-down list
<label> Defines a label for an <input> element
<fieldset> Groups related elements in a form
<legend> Defines a caption for a <fieldset> element
<datalist> Specifies a list of pre-defined options for input controls
<output> Defines the result of a calculation

Frames

Tag Description
<frame> Not supported in HTML5.
Defines a window (a frame) in a frameset
<frameset> Not supported in HTML5.
Defines a set of frames
<noframes> Not supported in HTML5.
Defines an alternate content for users that do not support frames
<iframe> Defines an inline frame

Images

Tag Description
<img> Defines an image
<map> Defines a client-side image-map
<area> Defines an area inside an image-map
<canvas> Used to draw graphics, on the fly, via scripting (usually JavaScript)
<figcaption> Defines a caption for a <figure> element
<figure> Specifies self-contained content
<picture> Defines a container for multiple image resources
<svg> Defines a container for SVG graphics

Audio / Video

Tag Description
<audio> Defines sound content
<source> Defines multiple media resources for media elements (<video>, <audio> and <picture>)
<track> Defines text tracks for media elements (<video> and <audio>)
<video> Defines a video or movie

Links

Tag Description
<a> Defines a hyperlink
<link> Defines the relationship between a document and an external resource (most used to link to style sheets)
<nav> Defines navigation links

Lists

Tag Description
<ul> Defines an unordered list
<ol> Defines an ordered list
<li> Defines a list item
<dir> Not supported in HTML5. Use <ul> instead.
Defines a directory list
<dl> Defines a description list
<dt> Defines a term/name in a description list
<dd> Defines a description of a term/name in a description list

Tables

Tag Description
<table> Defines a table
<caption> Defines a table caption
<th> Defines a header cell in a table
<tr> Defines a row in a table
<td> Defines a cell in a table
<thead> Groups the header content in a table
<tbody> Groups the body content in a table
<tfoot> Groups the footer content in a table
<col> Specifies column properties for each column within a <colgroup> element
<colgroup> Specifies a group of one or more columns in a table for formatting

Styles and Semantics

Tag Description
<style> Defines style information for a document
<div> Defines a section in a document
<span> Defines a section in a document
<header> Defines a header for a document or section
<footer> Defines a footer for a document or section
<main> Specifies the main content of a document
<section> Defines a section in a document
<article> Defines an article
<aside> Defines content aside from the page content
<details> Defines additional details that the user can view or hide
<dialog> Defines a dialog box or window
<summary> Defines a visible heading for a <details> element
<data> Links the given content with a machine-readable translation

Meta Info

Tag Description
<head> Defines information about the document
<meta> Defines metadata about an HTML document
<base> Specifies the base URL/target for all relative URLs in a document
<basefont> Not supported in HTML5. Use CSS instead.
Specifies a default color, size, and font for all text in a document

Programming

Tag Description
<script> Defines a client-side script
<noscript> Defines an alternate content for users that do not support client-side scripts
<applet> Not supported in HTML5. Use <embed> or <object> instead.
Defines an embedded applet
<embed> Defines a container for an external (non-HTML) application
<object> Defines an embedded object
<param> Defines a parameter for an object