HTML Boilerplate
The HTML Boilerplate contains all the relevant information to inform the browser that you are presenting an HTML document to load. It contains the HTML declaration, the head section containing Meta tags declaring the default display values, the title of the document that will be displayed in the browser tab, and links to stylesheets, fonts and other items needed to complete the document.
| HTML Element | Description | Important Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| !DOCTYPE html | The declaration is not an HTML tag. It is an "information" to the browser about what document type to expect. | None |
| <html> | Represents the root of an HTML document. It is the container for all other HTML elements with the exception of the !DOCTYPE declaration. | None |
| <head> | A container for metadata (data about data) and is placed between the <html> tag and the <body> tag. | None |
| <meta> | Defines metadata about an HTML document. Metadata is data (information) about data. Typically used to specify character set, page description, keywords, author of the document, and viewport settings. | None |
| <title> | Defines the title of the document. The title must be text-only, and it is shown in the browser's title bar or in the page's tab. | Text only |
| <link> | Defines the relationship between the current document and an external resource. | None |
| <style> | Used to define style information (CSS) for a document. Not typically used in an HTML document, as CSS is typically applied using a seperate Style Sheet. | Commonly used for HTML emails. |
| <base> | Specifies the base URL and/or target for all relative URLs in a document. | Only one use allowed in an HTML document. |
HTML Body Elements
The elements within the Body tag contain all the content of a web page.
| HTML Element | Description | Important Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| <body> | Contains all the contents of an HTML document, such as headings, paragraphs, images, hyperlinks, tables, lists, etc. | Only one use allowed in an HTML document. |
| <h1> through <h6> | The heading elements, used as headings for the document, paragraphs, sections, etc. <h1> is the largest, <h6> is the smallest. | Typically only one <h1> is used in a document. |