HTML Tag reference table

Written by Scott Mitchell
Views: 1,059
Published: Feb 8, 2013
Comments: 0

HTML code consists of many different tags. These tags are used to format your content in an aesthetically pleasing way for your site visitors. At present, there are over 100 different tags. Below is a list of these tags and their description to help you in designing your website.

HTML Reference Table

Tag NameWhat 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)
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