Basic HTML Tags
The most
important tags in HTML are tags that define
headings, paragraphs and line breaks.
The best
way to learn HTML is to work with examples.
We have created a very nice HTML editor for
you. With this editor, you can edit the HTML
source code if you like, and click on a test
button to view the result.
Headings
Headings are defined with
the <h1> to <h6> tags. <h1> defines the
largest heading. <h6> defines the smallest
heading.
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<h2>This is a heading</h2>
<h3>This is a heading</h3>
<h4>This is a heading</h4>
<h5>This is a heading</h5>
<h6>This is a heading</h6>
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HTML automatically adds an
extra blank line before and after a heading.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are defined
with the <p> tag.
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<p>This is another paragraph</p>
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HTML automatically adds an
extra blank line before and after a
paragraph.
Line Breaks
The <br> tag is used when
you want to end a line, but don't want to
start a new paragraph. The <br> tag forces a
line break wherever you place it.
<p>This <br> is a para<br>graph with line breaks</p>
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The <br> tag is an empty
tag. It has no closing tag.
Comments in HTML
The comment tag is used to
insert a comment in the HTML source code. A
comment will be ignored by the browser. You
can use comments to explain your code, which
can help you when you edit the source code
at a later date.
<!-- This is a comment -->
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Note that you need an
exclamation point after the opening bracket,
but not before the closing bracket.
Basic Notes - Useful Tips
When you write HTML text,
you can never be sure how the text is
displayed in another browser. Some people
have large computer displays, some have
small. The text will be reformatted every
time the user resizes his window. Never try
to format the text in your editor by adding
empty lines and spaces to the text.
HTML will truncate the
spaces in your text. Any number of spaces
count as one. Some extra information: In
HTML a new line counts as one space.
Using empty paragraphs <p>
to insert blank lines is a bad habit. Use
the <br> tag instead. (But don't use the <br>
tag to create lists. Wait until you have
learned about HTML lists.)
You might have noticed
that paragraphs can be written without the
closing tag </p>. Don't rely on it. The next
version of HTML will not allow you to skip
ANY closing tags.
HTML automatically adds an
extra blank line before and after some
elements, like before and after a paragraph,
and before and after a heading.
We use a horizontal rule
(the <hr> tag), to separate the sections in
our tutorials.
Basic HTML Tags
Tag |
Description |
<html> |
Defines an HTML
document |
<body> |
Defines the
document's body |
<h1> to <h6> |
Defines header 1
to header 6 |
<p> |
Defines a
paragraph |
<br> |
Inserts a single
line break |
<hr> |
Defines a
horizontal rule |
<!--> |
Defines a comment |
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