HTML elements

If you don't know what an element is or how you must use it, I recommend you read the "HTML tags and attributes" tutorial that you can find in the HTML tutorials section.

Below is a list of all elements in the HTML standard up to version 5, along with a short description about it's use/purpose. Clicking on any element on this list will take you to a page with a detailed description about it, some examples of its use and a list of all attributes it supports.

You should bear in mind that newer elements, like those added in HTML5, may have partial support or no support at all in some browsers. This will change with time, but meanwhile, if you're designing a website that needs to be viewed correctly in all browsers, you may want to avoid their use or replace them with other alternatives like scripts. All features of HTML5 with incomplete browser support are properly marked with red and accompanied by warning messages.

The comment tag and the !DOCTYPE declaration, not being elements, strictly speaking, aren't listed in the following table.

List of current HTML elements

TagAddedShort description

THe root element

<html> Contains the whole document

Document metadata

<head> Defines the document's header block
<title> Specifies the document's title
<base> Sets base URI to solve relative URIs
<link> Gives relational information for documents
<meta> Provides information for the document
<style> Contains presentational attributes

Sections

<body> Contains all renderable elements
<article> Contains distributable content
<section> Defines a section of the document
<nav> Defines a navigation section
<aside> Holds content only slightly related
<h1> Inserts a level 1 heading
<h2> Inserts a level 2 heading
<h3> Inserts a level 3 heading
<h4> Inserts a level 4 heading
<h5> Inserts a level 5 heading
<h6> Inserts a level 6 heading
<hgroup> Groups consecutive headings
<header> Contains the header of a section
<footer> Contains the footer of a section
<address> Provides contact information

Grouping content

<p> Inserts a paragraph
<hr> Draws a horizontal line or rule
<pre> Defines a block of preformatted text
<blockquote> Block level quotation
<ol> Inserts an ordered list
<ul> Inserts an unordered list
<menu> Inserts a toolbar menu
<li> Defines a list item
<dl> Inserts a definitions list
<dt> Inserts a term in a list
<dd> Provides descriptions in a list
<figure> Marks its content as a reference
<figcaption> Provides a caption for a figure
<main> Acts as a main container for elements
<div> Defines a block of content

Text-level semantics

<a> Inserts links or bookmarks
<em> Indicates emphasis
<strong> Indicates strong emphasis
<small> Renders text in "small" font
<s> Content no longer accurate or relevant
<cite> Inserts a citation or reference
<q> Inserts an inline quotation
<dfn> Provides a definition for a term
<abbr> Explains abbreviations
<ruby> Inserts ruby annotated text
<rt> Provides a ruby annotation
<rp> Makes text to be ignored in ruby
<data> Provides a machine-readable version
<time> Represents a date and/or time
<code> Represents computer code
<var> Indicates an instance of a variable
<samp> Contains a program's sample output
<kbd> Represents text entered by users
<sub> Defines subscript text
<sup> Defines superscript text
<i> Renders italic text
<b> Text in bold style
<u> Represents non-textual annotations
<mark> Marks text in another document
<bdi> Isolates for bidirectional formatting
<bdo> Overrides the bidirectional algorithm
<span> Assings attributes to text (inline)
<br> Forces a line break
<wbr> Represents a line break opportunity

Edits

<ins> Indicates inserted text
<del> Indicates deleted text

Embedded content

<picture> Inserts a multi-source image
<source> Specifies alternative media resources
<img> Inserts an image
<iframe> Inserts a frame inside a document
<embed> Integrates external applications
<object> Runs external applications
<param> Sets a parameter for an object
<video> Inserts videos in the document
<audio> Inserts audio files in the document
<track> Provides text tracks for a video
<map> Defines a client-side image map
<area> Defines sectors for image maps

Tabular data

<table> Inserts a table
<caption> Provides a caption for a table
<colgroup> Groups columns in a table
<col> Sets attributes for a table's columns
<tbody> Defines the body of a table
<thead> Defines the header of a table
<tfoot> Defines the footer of a table
<tr> Inserts a row in a table
<td> Inserts a regular cell in a table
<th> Inserts a header cell in a table

Forms

<form> Inserts a form
<label> Sets a label for a control
<input> Displays an input control
<button> Creates a button control
<select> Creates a select control
<datalist> Provides suggestions for input fields
<optgroup> Groups options in a select control
<option> Inserts an option in a select control
<textarea> Creates a multiline text input
<output> Shows the output of a process
<progress> Shows a task's completion progress
<meter> Represents a measurement
<fieldset> Groups controls in a form
<legend> Assigns a caption for a fieldset

Interactive elements

<details> Provides collapsable information
<summary> Provides a summary for a details element
<dialog> Inserts a dialog box

Scripting

<script> Contains scripts
<noscript> Provides alternative content for scripts
<template> Defines a template for data to come
<slot> Placeholder for data in components
<canvas> Renders dynamic bitmap graphics