Lesson 3 – All HTML Tags
All HTML Tags…
The table below shows all standard HTML tags. The left column shows the tag element and whether it is a tag pair or a single tag.
The center column, L/T, shows “no” if the tag is not suitable for use in a listing template, “n/a” if the tag has limited browser support or is otherwise not worthy of discussion, and “yes” if the tag is suitable for use in a listing template. When “yes” is in blue it means these tags relate to web forms and are a special case for use in templates.
Note that not all tags marked “yes” will be discussed in this course. Some are just not used often enough or have no real purpose for what we are attempting to do. Only the ones indicated with bright yellow will be taught in this course.
The right column indicates what the tags, or elements, are used for. If deprecated is indicated then that element should no longer be used. This course will teach you the right way to replace those deprecated tags.
Some commonly used tags like those for bold and italics, which are not deprecated, and center and strike through, which are deprecated, will not be included in this course because it is considered more proper to use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the inline style attribute in our case, to render these effects. We’ll talk more about this throughout the course.
| HTML Tags | L/T | Used For |
| <a> </a> | yes | anchor or link |
| <abbr> </abbr> | yes | designates an abbreviation |
| <acronym> </acronym> | yes | designates an acronym |
| <address> </address> | yes | desinates contact information |
| <applet> </applet> | yes | used to call JavaScript – deprecated |
| <area /> | yes | defines active region in an image map |
| <b> </b> | yes | activates bold text |
| <base /> | no | defines path to current document |
| <basefont /> | no | sets font rules – deprecated |
| <bdo> </bdo> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <big> </big> | yes | renders next larger font size |
| <blockquote> </blockquote> | yes | sets off long quotation |
| <body> </body> | no | defines the body section of a web page |
| <br /> | yes | forces line break |
| <button> </button> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <caption> </caption> | yes | brief description of a table |
| <center> </center> | yes | centers content – deprecated |
| <cite> </cite> | yes | citation or reference |
| <code> </code> | yes | display computer code |
| <col> </col> | yes | shortcut to assinging widths |
| <colgroup> </colgroup> | yes | groups ‘col’ assignments |
| <dd> </dd> | yes | definition part of definition list |
| <del> </del> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <dfn> </dfn> | yes | designates defining instance of a term |
| <dir> </dir> | yes | multi-column lists – deprecated |
| <div> </div> | yes | designates a division within the body |
| <dl> </dl> | yes | designates a definition list |
| <dt> </dt> | yes | term part of a definition list |
| <em> </em> | yes | designates emphasis in text |
| <fieldset> </fieldset> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <font> </font> | yes | designate text characteristics – deprecated |
| <form> </form> | yes | container for form elements |
| <frame /> | no | defines and apportions browser window |
| <frameset> </frameset> | no | contains frame definitions |
| <h1> </h1> | yes | heading level one |
| <h2> </h2> | yes | heading level two |
| <h3> </h3> | yes | heading level three |
| <h4> </h4> | yes | heading level four |
| <h5> </h5> | yes | heading level five |
| <h6> </h6> | yes | heading level six |
| <head> </head> | no | designates head section of web page |
| <hr /> | yes | hard rule or line |
| <html> </html> | no | container for entire web page |
| <i> </i> | yes | renders text as italicized |
| <iframe> </iframe> | no | creates inline frame |
| <img /> | yes | designates placement of an image file |
| <input /> | yes | form data gathering control |
| <ins> </ins> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <isindex /> | no | deprecated |
| <kbd> </kbd> | yes | designates text to type on keyboard |
| <label> </label> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <legend> </legend> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <li> </li> | yes | designates a list item |
| <link /> | no | link to other documents |
| <map> </map> | yes | container for area elements |
| <marquee> </marquee>* | yes | scrolling text or graphics |
| <menu> </menu> | yes | multi-column lists – deprecated |
| <meta /> | no | conveys hidden information |
| <noframes> </noframes> | no | content for browsers without frames support |
| <noscript> </noscript> | yes | content for browsers without script support |
| <object> </object> | yes | replace applet/embed; renders data types |
| <ol> </ol> | yes | container for ordered lists |
| <optgroup> </optgroup> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <option> </option> | yes | select list form element |
| <p> </p> | yes | designates a paragraph |
| <param /> | yes | pass parameters to object element |
| <pre> </pre> | yes | preformatted text – displays as entered |
| <q> </q> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <s> </s> | yes | renders text as strike through – deprecated |
| <samp> </samp> | yes | designates sample output |
| <script> </script> | yes | container for script coding |
| <select> </select> | yes | container for option elements |
| <small> </small> | yes | renders text one size smaller |
| <span> </span> | yes | convenience in line container for CSS |
| <strike> </strike> | yes | renders text as strike through – deprecated |
| <strong> </strong> | yes | designates stronger emphasis than em |
| <style> </> | no | container for embedded style sheet |
| <sub> </sub> | yes | renders text as subscript |
| <sup> </sup> | yes | renders text as superscript |
| <table> </table> | yes | container for tabular content |
| <tbody> </tbody> | yes | optional table division designator |
| <td> </td> | yes | defines table data cell |
| <textarea> </textarea> | yes | multiline text input control |
| <tfoot> </tfoot> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <th> </th> | yes | header titles for table cells |
| <thead> </thead> | n/a | limited browser support |
| <title> </title> | no | document working title – not displayed |
| <tr> </tr> | yes | designates table row of data cells |
| <tt> </tt> | yes | renders text as monospaced ‘teletype’ |
| <u> </u> | yes | renders text underlined – deprecated |
| <ul> </ul> | yes | container for unordered list |
| <var> </var> | yes | designates content as variable name |
*The MARQUEE tag is not actually a true HTML tag. It was introduced by Microsoft as a tag specific to Internet Explorer v3 and was never embraced by the HTML standards committee. Since it is very popular, in widespread use, really quite useful in template design, and now supported by almost all browsers, I have included it in this course.
What Have We Learned…
In this third lesson we have learned:
- There are only about 100 HTML tags — actually less — and only 27 we’ll use. Count them!
- Only certain HTML tags are suitable for use in our template designs.
- Some tags have been deprecated which means we should not be using them any more.
- Some features, although supported by valid tags, are best created using CSS.
- The MARQUEE tag is not true HTML but it is being included in the course anyway.
There really aren’t very many HTML tags at all, even less that are suitable for use in a listing template and still less yet that we will cover in this course — only a little over two dozen — so you really shouldn’t be worried about learning how to use them.
Your next lesson will be available whenever you are.
[ top of page ]
