The following reference provides common tags that generally work in all W3C compliant Web browsers created in the 21st century. All of the tags here will work with the XHTML Transitional Document Type Definition (DTD). Some of the older tags are marked as deprecated. You can view the reference alphabetically or by function. This document is adapted from information on w3schools.com and the links found here take you to more detailed information about each tag found on that site.
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <!--...--> | a comment |
| <!DOCTYPE> | the document type |
| <a> | an anchor |
| <abbr> | an abbreviation |
| <acronym> | an acronym |
| <address> | an address element |
| <applet> | an applet (deprecated) |
| <area /> | an area inside an image map |
| <b> | bold text |
| <base /> | a base URL for all the links in a page |
| <bdo> | the direction of text display |
| <big> | big text |
| <blockquote> | a long quotation |
| <body> | the body element |
| <br /> | Inserts a single line break |
| <button> | a push button |
| <caption> | a table caption |
| <cite> | a citation |
| <code> | computer code text |
| <col> | attributes for table columns |
| <colgroup> | groups of table columns |
| <dd> | a definition description |
| <del> | deleted text |
| <dfn> | a definition term |
| <div> | a section in a document |
| <dl> | a definition list |
| <dt> | a definition term |
| <em> | emphasized text |
| <fieldset> | a fieldset |
| <form> | a form |
| <frame> | a sub window (a frame) |
| <frameset> | a set of frames |
| <h1> to <h6> | header 1 to header 6 |
| <head> | information about the document |
| <hr /> | a horizontal rule |
| <html> | an html document |
| <i> | italic text |
| <iframe> | an inline sub window (frame) (deprecated) |
| <img /> | an image |
| <input /> | an input field |
| <ins> | inserted text |
| <kbd> | keyboard text |
| <label> | a label |
| <legend> | a title in a fieldset |
| <li> | a list item |
| <link> | a resource reference |
| <map> | an image map |
| <meta> | meta information |
| <noframes> | a noframe section (deprecated) |
| <noscript> | a noscript section |
| <object> | an embedded object |
| <ol> | an ordered list |
| <optgroup> | an option group |
| <option> | an option in a drop-down list |
| <p> | a paragraph |
| <param> | a parameter for an object |
| <pre> | preformatted text |
| <q> | a short quotation |
| <s> | strikethrough text (deprecated) |
| <samp> | sample computer code |
| <script> | a script |
| <select> | a selectable list |
| <small> | small text |
| <span> | a section in a document |
| <strike> | strikethrough text (deprecated) |
| <strong> | strong text |
| <style> | a style definition |
| <sub> | subscripted text |
| <sup> | superscripted text |
| <table> | a table |
| <tbody> | a table body |
| <td> | a table cell |
| <textarea> | a text area |
| <tfoot> | a table footer |
| <th> | a table header |
| <thead> | a table header |
| <title> | the document title |
| <tr> | a table row |
| <tt> | teletype text |
| <ul> | an unordered list |
| <var> | a variable |
This list is also available ordered by name.
| Start tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Basic Tags | |
| <!DOCTYPE> | the document type |
| <html> | an html document |
| <body> | the body element |
| <h1> to <h6> | header 1 to header 6 |
| <p> | a paragraph |
| <br /> | a single line break |
| <hr /> | a horizontal rule |
| <!--...--> | a comment |
| Char Format | |
| <b> | bold text |
| <i> | italic text |
| <em> | emphasized text |
| <big> | big text |
| <strong> | strong text |
| <small> | small text |
| <sup> | superscripted text |
| <sub> | subscripted text |
| <bdo> | the direction of text display |
| Output | |
| <pre> | preformatted text |
| <code> | computer code text |
| <tt> | teletype text |
| <kbd> | keyboard text |
| <var> | a variable |
| <samp> | sample computer code |
| Blocks | |
| <acronym> | an acronym |
| <abbr> | an abbreviation |
| <address> | an address element |
| <blockquote> | an long quotation |
| <q> | a short quotation |
| <cite> | a citation |
| <ins> | inserted text |
| <del> | deleted text |
| <s> | strikethrough text (deprecated) |
| <strike> | strikethrough text (deprecated) |
| Links | |
| <a> | an anchor |
| <link> | a resource reference |
| Frames | |
| <frame> | a sub window (a frame) |
| <frameset> | a set of frames |
| <noframes> | a noframe section (deprecated) |
| <iframe> | an inline sub window (frame) (deprecated) |
| Input | |
| <form> | a form |
| <input /> | an input field |
| <textarea> | a text area |
| <button> | a push button |
| <select> | a selectable list |
| <optgroup> | an option group |
| <option> | an item in a list box |
| <label> | a label |
| <fieldset> | a fieldset |
| <legend> | a title in a fieldset |
| Lists | |
| <ul> | an unordered list |
| <ol> | an ordered list |
| <li> | a list item |
| <dl> | a definition list |
| <dt> | a definition term |
| <dfn> | a definition term |
| <dd> | a definition description |
| Images | |
| <img /> | an image |
| <map> | an image map |
| <area /> | an area inside an image map |
| Tables | |
| <table> | a table |
| <caption> | a table caption |
| <th> | a table header |
| <tr> | a table row |
| <td> | a table data cell |
| <thead> | a table header |
| <tbody> | a table body |
| <tfoot> | a table footer |
| <col> | attributes for table columns |
| <colgroup> | groups of table columns |
| Styles | |
| <style> | a style definition |
| <div> | a block-level section in a document |
| <span> | an inline section of a document |
| Meta Info | |
| <head> | information about the document |
| <title> | the document title |
| <meta> | meta information |
| <base /> | a base URL for all the links in a page |
| Programming | |
| <script> | a script |
| <noscript> | a noscript section |
| <object> | an embedded object |
| <param> | a parameter for an object |