| element |
description |
notes |
sort by usage |
read the W3Cspec |
| html |
document root element |
exactly one per document |
document |
spec |
| head |
document head |
exactly one per document |
document |
spec |
| title |
document title |
exactly one per document |
document |
spec |
| body |
document body |
exactly one per document |
document |
spec |
| a |
anchor |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| abbr |
abbreviated form |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| acronym |
acronym |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| address |
information on author |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| area |
client-side image map |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| base |
document base URI |
|
document |
spec |
| blockquote |
long quotation |
|
block |
spec |
| br |
forced line break |
use for poetry only |
|
spec |
| button |
push button |
|
form |
spec |
| caption |
table caption |
|
table |
spec |
| cite |
citation |
useful inline element |
inline/phrase |
spec |
| code |
computer code fragment |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| col |
table column |
|
table |
spec |
| colgroup |
table column group |
|
table |
spec |
| dd |
definition description |
part of the underused dl list type |
list |
spec |
| del |
deleted text |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| dfn |
instance definition |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| div |
generic container |
|
block level |
spec |
| dl |
defintion list |
underused list type |
list |
spec |
| dt |
definition term |
part of the underused dl list type |
list |
spec |
| em |
emphasis (does not equal italics inherently |
excellent inline element for calling out strings |
inline/phrase |
spec |
| form |
interactive form |
can be top-level block element |
form |
spec |
| h1, h2, ... h6 |
heading |
for calling out sections of a document |
block |
spec |
| iframe |
inline subwindow |
|
document |
spec |
| img |
embedded image |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| input |
form control |
|
form |
spec |
| ins |
inserted text |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| kbd |
text to be entered by the user |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| label |
for field label text |
underused - aides accessibility and usability |
form |
spec |
| legend |
fieldset legent |
|
form |
spec |
| li |
list item |
use with ol and ul |
list |
spec |
| link |
media independent link |
one use it to include external .css files |
document |
spec |
| map |
client-side image map |
|
document |
spec |
| meta |
generic meta information |
generally in the head |
document |
spec |
| noscript |
alternate content container for non script-based rendering |
|
document |
spec |
| object |
generic embedded object |
|
block |
spec |
| ol |
ordered list |
|
list |
spec |
| optgroup |
option group |
use within form > select > option |
form |
spec |
| option |
selectable choice |
use within form > select |
form |
spec |
| p |
paragraph |
|
block |
spec |
| param |
named property value |
|
object |
spec |
| pre |
preformatted text |
|
block |
spec |
| q |
short inline quotation |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| samp |
sample program output, script, etc |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| script |
script statements |
often within head |
document |
spec |
| select |
option selector |
use within form |
form |
spec |
| span |
generic container |
adds no semantic value, so try to use a different element |
inline/phrase |
spec |
| strong |
strong emphasis |
does not inherently mean bold |
inline/phrase |
spec |
| style |
style info |
for on-page CSS |
document |
spec |
| sub |
subscript |
think twice before using |
inline/phrase |
spec |
| sup |
superscript |
think twice before using |
inline/phrase |
spec |
| table |
data table top node |
exclusively for tabular data such as a box score or financial results |
block |
spec |
| td |
table data cell |
|
table |
spec |
| textarea |
multi-line text field |
|
form |
spec |
| th |
table header cell |
every table must have header cells |
table |
spec |
| thead |
table header |
a good idea |
table |
spec |
| tr |
table row |
|
table |
spec |
| tt |
teletype or monospaced text |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |
| ul |
unordered list |
more than bulleted lists can be expressed |
list |
spec |
| var |
instance of a program argument |
|
inline/phrase |
spec |