Are you new to web development or simply looking for a quick reference guide to HTML elements? Look no further than this comprehensive HTML cheat sheet! In this guide, we’ll cover all the essential HTML elements you need to know to get started building your own websites. But before we dive in, let’s first discuss what HTML is and why it’s important.
HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is the standard language used for creating web pages. It defines the structure and content of a webpage, including text, images, videos, and other multimedia elements. HTML is the foundation of every website, and understanding its essential elements is crucial for anyone interested in web development.
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the most important HTML elements and how to use them.
HTML Tags:
HTML tags are keywords enclosed in angle brackets that are used to define the structure and content of a web page. HTML tags are used to create headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, forms, images, links, and other elements of a web page.
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
<!DOCTYPE html> | Defines the document type |
<html> | Defines the root element of an HTML document |
<head> | Contains metadata about the document |
<title> | Defines the title of the document |
<body> | Contains the visible content of the document |
<h1> to <h6> | Defines headings |
<p> | Defines a paragraph |
<br> | Inserts a line break |
<hr> | Defines a horizontal line |
<a> | Defines a hyperlink |
<img> | Defines an image |
<ul> | Defines an unordered list |
<ol> | Defines an ordered list |
<li> | Defines a list item |
<table> | Defines a table |
<tr> | Defines a table row |
<th> | Defines a table header cell |
<td> | Defines a table data cell |
<form> | Defines a form |
<input> | Defines an input field |
<button> | Defines a clickable button |
<select> | Defines a drop-down list |
<option> | Defines an option in a drop-down list |
<textarea> | Defines a multi-line input field |
<label> | Defines a label for an input element |
<div> | Defines a section of the document |
<span> | Defines a small section of the document |
<style> | Defines a section for CSS styles |
<script> | Defines a section for JavaScript code |
HTML Attributes:
HTML attributes are additional properties that can be added to an HTML element to provide more information or to modify its behavior. Attributes are defined within the opening tag of an HTML element, and are specified using the syntax attribute="value". Here are some common HTML attributes and their descriptions:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
id | Defines a unique identifier for an element |
class | Defines one or more classes for an element |
style | Defines inline CSS styles for an element |
href | Defines the URL of a hyperlink |
src | Defines the URL of an image or script |
alt | Defines alternate text for an image |
width | Defines the width of an element |
height | Defines the height of an element |
name | Defines a name for an input element |
type | Defines the type of an input element |
value | Defines the value of an input element |
checked | Defines whether a checkbox or radio button is checked |
selected | Defines whether an option in a drop-down list is selected |
disabled | Defines whether an input element is disabled |
readonly | Defines whether an input element is read-only |
required | Defines whether an input element is required |
HTML Entities:
HTML entities are special codes that can be used to represent characters and symbols that cannot be typed directly using a keyboard or may cause issues in HTML code. For example, the & symbol is used to denote the beginning of an entity, and the ; symbol is used to denote the end of an entity.
| Entity | Description |
|---|---|
< | Less than |
> | Greater than |
& | Ampersand |
" | Double quote |
' | Single quote |
HTML Comments:
HTML comments are a way to add notes or reminders within the HTML code that are not visible to users when the page is rendered in a web browser. Comments can be used to explain complex code, leave reminders to yourself or other developers, or temporarily remove code without deleting it entirely.
<!-- This is a comment -->
HTML Forms:
<form action="submit-form.php" method="POST">
<label for="name">Name:</label>
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" required>
<label for="email">Email:</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email" required>
<label for="message">Message:</label>
<textarea id="message" name="message"></textarea>
<button type="submit">Submit </button>
</form>
```
HTML Lists:
HTML lists are used to group related content into a structured, ordered or unordered format. There are three types of lists in HTML:
- Unordered List (
<ul>): An unordered list displays items in a bulleted format. Each item in the list is denoted by a bullet point.
Example:
<ul>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
<li>Item 3</li>
</ul>
- Ordered List (
<ol>): An ordered list displays items in a numbered format. Each item in the list is denoted by a number.
Example:
<ol>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
<li>Item 3</li>
</ol>
- Definition List (
<dl>): A definition list is used to display a list of terms and their definitions. Each term is denoted by a term tag (<dt>) and each definition is denoted by a definition tag (<dd>).
Example:
<dl>
<dt>Term 1</dt>
<dd>Definition 1</dd>
<dt>Term 2</dt>
<dd>Definition 2</dd>
<dt>Term 3</dt>
<dd>Definition 3</dd>
</dl>
Within each type of list, individual list items are denoted by the <li> tag. Lists can also be nested inside other lists by including a new list type within an existing list item.
Lists can be styled using CSS to modify the bullet points or numbering style, indentation, and spacing between items.
HTML Tables:
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Email</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>John Doe</td>
<td>john@example.com</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jane Smith</td>
<td>jane@example.com</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
HTML Links:
<a href="https://example.com">Link text</a>
HTML Images:
<img src="image.jpg" alt="Image description">
HTML Headings:
<h1>Heading 1</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>
<h4>Heading 4</h4>
<h5>Heading 5</h5>
<h6>Heading 6</h6>
HTML Paragraphs:
<p>Paragraph text</p>
HTML Line Breaks:
<br>
HTML Horizontal Rule:
<hr>HTML Text Formatting:
<strong>bold text</strong>
<em>italic text</em>
<ins>underlined text</ins>
<del>strikethrough text</del>
<sup>superscript text</sup>
<sub>subscript text</sub>
HTML Forms (additional input types):
<input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-name" id="checkbox-id" value="checkbox-value">
<input type="radio" name="radio-name" id="radio-id" value="radio-value">
<input type="date" name="date-name" id="date-id">
<input type="time" name="time-name" id="time-id">
<input type="color" name="color-name" id="color-id">
<input type="file" name="file-name" id="file-id">
<input type="password" name="password-name" id="password-id">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
<input type="reset" value="Reset">
HTML Links (additional attributes):
<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank">Link text</a>
<a href="#section-id">Link to section</a>
HTML Images (additional attributes):
<img src="image.jpg" alt="Image description" width="500" height="300">
HTML Tables (additional attributes):
<table border="1">
<caption>Table caption</caption>
<colgroup>
<col span="2" style="background-color: #f2f2f2;">
<col style="background-color: #ddd;">
</colgroup>
<thead>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Header 1</th>
<th colspan="2">Header 2</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Subheader 1</th>
<th>Subheader 2</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Row 1, Column 1</td>
<td>Row 1, Column 2</td>
<td>Row 1, Column 3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Row 2, Column 1</td>
<td>Row 2, Column 2</td>
<td>Row 2, Column 3</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td>Footer 1</td>
<td>Footer 2</td>
<td>Footer 3</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
</table>
HTML Semantic Tags:
<header>
<!-- header content here -->
</header>
<nav>
<!-- navigation menu here -->
</nav>
<main>
<!-- main content here -->
</main>
<section>
<!-- section content here -->
</section>
<article>
<!-- article content here -->
</article>
<aside>
<!-- aside content here -->
</aside>
<footer>
<!-- footer content here -->
</footer>
HTML Audio and Video:
<audio controls>
<source src="audio.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio tag.
</audio>
<video controls width="640" height="360">
<source src="video.mp4" type="video/mp4">
Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>
HTML Metadata:
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Page title</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
</head>
HTML Entities:
© <!-- © -->
® <!-- ® -->
™ <!-- ™ -->
á <!-- á -->
è <!-- è -->
½ <!-- ½ -->HTML Lists:
<ul>
<li>List item 1</li>
<li>List item 2</li>
<li>List item 3</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>List item 1</li>
<li>List item 2</li>
<li>List item 3</li>
</ol>
<dl>
<dt>Definition term 1</dt>
<dd>Definition description 1</dd>
<dt>Definition term 2</dt>
<dd>Definition description 2</dd>
</dl>
HTML Divs and Spans:
<div>
<!-- Div content here -->
</div>
<span>
<!-- Span content here -->
</span>
HTML Layout and Grids:
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-6">Column 1</div>
<div class="col-6">Column 2</div>
</div>
</div>
<section class="hero">
<!-- hero section content here -->
</section>
<section class="feature">
<!-- feature section content here -->
</section>
<section class="cta">
<!-- call-to-action section content here -->
</section>
HTML Iframes:
<iframe src="https://example.com" width="640" height="360"></iframe>
HTML Entities:
– <!-- – -->
— <!-- — -->
“ <!-- “ -->
” <!-- ” -->
‘ <!-- ‘ -->
’ <!-- ’ -->Examples:
Example 1: Basic HTML page
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>My Website</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to my website!</h1>
<p>This is my first HTML page.</p>
</body>
</html>
Example 2: HTML form
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Registration Form</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Registration Form</h1>
<form>
<label for="name">Name:</label>
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" required>
<label for="email">Email:</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email" required>
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input type="password" id="password" name="password" required>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
Example 3: HTML image and link
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>My Website</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to my website!</h1>
<a href="https://example.com"><img src="myimage.jpg" alt="My Image"></a>
</body>
</html>
Example 4: HTML table
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>My Website</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to my website!</h1>
<table>
<tr>
<th>Header 1</th>
<th>Header 2</th>
<th>Header 3</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Row 1, Column 1</td>
<td>Row 1, Column 2</td>
<td>Row 1, Column 3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Row 2, Column 1</td>
<td>Row 2, Column 2</td>
<td>Row 2, Column 3</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
These are just a few examples of complete HTML pages that you can use to study and practice. You can use these examples as a starting point and experiment with different HTML tags and attributes to see how they work.
What is the difference between HTML and CSS?
HTML is used to define the structure and content of a web page, while CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to define the style and layout of a web page. CSS is used to control the color, font, size, position, and other visual properties of HTML elements.
What is the latest version of HTML?
The latest version of HTML is HTML5, which was released in 2014. HTML5 includes new features such as multimedia support, semantic markup, and improved accessibility.
What is the difference between a class and an ID in HTML?
Both classes and IDs are used to apply styles to HTML elements using CSS. However, the main difference is that an ID can only be used once on a web page, while a class can be used multiple times. IDs are typically used for unique elements, such as a header or footer, while classes are used for groups of elements, such as a set of paragraphs or links.
What is a semantic tag in HTML?
A semantic tag is an HTML tag that describes the meaning and purpose of its content. Semantic tags help to improve the accessibility and usability of a web page by providing more context and structure to the content. Examples of semantic tags include <header>, <nav>, <main>, <article>, <section>, and <footer>.
What is the difference between an inline element and a block-level element?
Inline elements are HTML elements that are placed within a line of text, and do not start on a new line. Examples of inline elements include <a>, <span>, and <img>. Block-level elements, on the other hand, start on a new line and take up the full width of their parent container. Examples of block-level elements include <div>, <p>, and <h1>-<h6>.
What is a self-closing tag in HTML?
A self-closing tag is an HTML tag that does not have a closing tag, and is used to insert an element without any content. Self-closing tags are used for elements such as images and line breaks. The syntax for a self-closing tag is <tag />.
What is the difference between the <head> and <body> tags in HTML?
The <head> tag is used to define the metadata of a web page, such as the page title, meta tags, and links to external stylesheets and scripts. The <body> tag is used to define the visible content of a web page, such as headings, paragraphs, images, and other elements.
What are some best practices for writing HTML?
Some best practices for writing HTML include using proper indentation, using semantic markup, avoiding deprecated tags and attributes, using valid HTML, optimizing images and other media, and using descriptive filenames and alt text for images.
What is the role of HTML in SEO?
HTML plays an important role in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by providing search engines with information about the content and structure of a web page. Proper use of HTML tags, such as headings, titles, and meta descriptions, can improve a web page’s search engine ranking and visibility.
Conclusion
In conclusion, HTML is the standard markup language used to create web pages. It uses a combination of tags, attributes, and entities to structure content, add styles and interactivity, and make it accessible to users with different devices and disabilities. In this cheat sheet, we covered some of the most common HTML tags, attributes, entities, and other important elements that are essential for creating and formatting web pages. By using this cheat sheet, you can easily reference the syntax and usage of these HTML elements, making your web development process more efficient and effective.
