Within HTML there are many tag types you can use to create the perfect website. Below is a table of all currently used HTML tags and their descriptions. Tags that are either deprecated, no longer in use, or are new to HTML 5 are notated in the description.
Tag Name | What the tag defines |
---|---|
<abbr> | abbreviation |
<acronym> | acronym (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
<address> | contact information for the document author |
<applet> | embedded applet (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
<area> | area inside an image-map |
<article> | article (New in HTML 5) |
<aside> | content aside from the page content (New in HTML 5) |
<audio> | sound content (New in HTML 5) |
<b> | bold text |
<base> | defines the base URL/target for all relative URLs in an HTML document |
<basefont> | defines the default font for text in entire document. (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
<bdi> | isolates a specific part of text that may be differently formatted from text outside it. (New in HTML 5) |
<bdo> | overrides the current text direction |
<big> | defines big text (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
<blockquote> | section of text that is quoted from another source |
<body> | defines the body of the HTML document |
<br /> | line break |
<button> | clickable button |
<canvas> | defines an area used to create, or draw, a graphic via a script. (New in HTML 5) |
<caption> | table caption |
<center> | centers text (Deperacated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
<cite> | title of a work |
<code> | section of computer code |
<col> | column properties for each column within a <colgroup> element |
<colgroup> | a group of one or more columns located within a table |
<command> | command button (New in HTML 5) |
<datalist> | a list of pre-defined options for input (New in HTML 5) |
<dd> | description of an item in a definition list |
<del> | text that has been deleted |
<details> | additional details that the visitor is able to either view or hide at their discretion (New in HTML 5) |
<dfn> | definition term |
<dir> | defines a directory list (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML5) |
<div> | generic organizational section |
<dl> | definition list |
<dt> | a term in a definition list |
<em> | emphasized text |
<embed> | container to insert an external (non-HTML), or non-standard object (New in HTML 5) |
<fieldset> | container to group related elements |
<figcaption> | caption for the <figure> element (New in HTML 5) |
<figure> | self-contained content away from the main content (New in HTML 5) |
<font> | font, color, and size for text (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
<footer> | footer (New in HTML 5) |
<form> | HTML form for used for visitor input |
<frame> | a window in a <frameset> (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
<frameset> | set of frames (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
<h1> to <h6> | HTML headings, listed from largest (1) to smallest (6) |
<head> | container for other head elements |
<header> | header for a document or specific section (New in HTML 5) |
<hgroup> | used to group the heading elements (<h1> – <h6>) (New in HTML 5) |
<hr> | Horizontal Rule, used to create a break or change in content |
<html> | root tag of an HTML document |
<i> | italics |
<iframe> | inline frame |
<img /> | image |
<input> | input control |
<ins> | continer to define text that has been inserted |
<kbd> | keyboard input |
<keygen> | key-pair generator field (New in HTML 5) |
<label> | label for the <input> element |
<legend> | caption for <details> <fieldset>, <figure> |
<li> | list item |
<link> | defines a link to an external document, commonly used to link to style sheets |
<map> | defines an image-map |
<mark> | highlighted (marked) text (New in HTML 5) |
<menu> | menu, or list, of commands |
<meta> | metadata about the document |
<meter> | scalar measurement within a known range (New in HTML 5) |
<nav> | navigation link (New in HTML 5) |
<noframes> | alternate content for browsers not using frame support (No longer supported in HTML5) |
<noscript> | alternate content for browsers not using client-side scripting support |
<object> | embedded object |
<ol> | ordered list |
<optgroup> | group of options in a drop-down list |
<option> | option in a drop-down list |
<output> | result of a calculation (New in HTML 5) |
<p> | paragraph |
<param> | parameter for an object |
<pre> | preformatted text |
<progress> | progress of a task (New in HTML 5) |
<q> | quotation |
<rp> | Specifies what content to display in browsers not supporting ruby annotations (New in HTML 5) |
<rt> | explanation/pronunciation of characters (New in HTML 5) |
<ruby> | ruby annotation (New in HTML 5) |
<s> | text that is no longer correct |
<samp> | sample output (from a computer program) |
<script> | client-side script |
<section> | section (New in HTML 5) |
<select> | drop-down list |
<small> | text smaller than the default |
<source> | media resources for media elements such as <audio> and <video> (New in HTML 5) |
<span> | a section in a document |
<strike> | strikethrough text (Deprecated in 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
<strong> | bold, or important, text |
<style> | style information |
<sub> | subscripted text |
<summary> | visible heading for the <details> element (New in HTML 5) |
<sup> | superscripted text |
<table> | table |
<tbody> | body content in a table |
<td> | cell in a table, table data |
<textarea> | multi-line text area |
<tfoot> | footer cell in a table |
<th> | header cell in a table |
<thead> | header cell in a table |
<time> | date/time (New in HTML 5) |
<title> | title for the HTML document |
<tr> | table row |
<track> | text tracks for media elements such as <audio> and <video> (New in HTML 5) |
<u> | underline |
<ul> | unordered list |
<var> | variable |
<video> | video or movie (New in HTML 5) |
<wbr> | opportunity for a line-break (New in HTML 5) |
Easy to understand format for a beginner like myself. Thanks.