Quick Run Down On Basic HTML Tags

**Charles** · 18 December, 2008, 05:54 AM

What Does HTML Stand for? Hyper-Text Markup Language.

HTML Code:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

This informs your web browser that you are running an HTML document, and specifies which version of HTML the document is using (in this case XHTML 1.0 Strict / English).

HTML Code:

<html></html>

These tags open and close HTML documents.

HTML Code:

<head></head>

These tags open the header section of your document, which usually includes <title> tags and <meta> information.

HTML Code:

<title>Untitled Document</title>

This specifies the title of the document, which is displayed on the upper-left hand corner of your screen. The <title> tag is generally located in the <head> of your document.

HTML Code:

<meta name="keywords" content="untitled, document" />
<meta name="description" content="This document is untitled." />

These are <meta> tags, which improve your on-page SEO, helping you to have a higher SERP.

HTML Code:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="includes/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />

This specifies the location of your Cascading Style Sheet. A Cascading Style Sheet allows you to change the output of <html> tags (i.e. alter text-face, amount of space between paragraphs etc).

HTML Code:

<body></body>

This specifies that you are entering the body of your document, where your content will be held.

HTML Code:

<p>This is a paragraph full of text.</p>

These are paragraph tags.

HTML Code:

<br />

This will bring your text down to the next line
like this.

HTML Code:

<hr />

The Horizontal Rule is an underused tag, which acts as a line straight across the page -- allowing you to separate different sections of your document.

HTML Code:

<h1>Heading 1</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>
etc.

The <h> tags will output different size headings. These are perfect to stuff your keyword in, as another form of on-page SEO.

HTML Code:

<a href="http://www.netbuilders.org">Net Builders</a>

The Anchor tag allows you to insert hyperlinks into your document. Between the double-quotes, you should place the URL that you wish to link to. The Anchor text can be placed after the first ">" sign.

HTML Code:

<img src="image.jpg" />

The Image tag allows you to place images into your document. Between the double-quotes, specify the location of your image.

HTML Code:

<b></b>

This tag allows you to bold your text.

HTML Code:

<i></i>

This tag allows you to italicize your text.

HTML Code:

<u></u>

This tag allows you to underline your text.

HTML Code:

<ul></ul>

This tag specifies that you are going to start an Unordered List.

HTML Code:

<ol></ol>

This tag specifies that you are going to start an Ordered List.

HTML Code:

<li>Listed item.</li>

Listed items can be placed inside the <ul>/<ol> tags. An example of an Unordered List below.

HTML Code:

<ul>
<li>Listed item.</li>
</ul>

This will output:

Listed item

HTML Code:

<table border="1"></table>

This tag specifies that you are going to insert a Table into your document. Alter the value in double-quotes to decrease/increase the thickness of the table's border.

HTML Code:

<tr></tr>

This tag specifies that you are going to create a new Table Row, this tag should be placed within the <table> tag.

HTML Code:

<td></td>

This tag specifies that you are going to insert a Table Data Cell, this tag should be placed within the <tr> tag. An example of a table is below.

HTML Code:

<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>Row one, Cell one</td>
<td>Row one, Cell two</td>
<td>Row one, Cell three</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Row two, Cell one</td>
<td>Row two, Cell two</td>
<td>Row two, Cell three</td>
</tr>
</table>

Unfortunately, BBCode does not allow you to insert tables, so you will need to save this example as a .html document in order to view it in your browser.

That's about all that you should need to know in order to create a basic HTML document.

**Mr.Bill** · 18 December, 2008, 06:28 AM

Nice of you to put this together, Wouldn't it be better to use

HTML Code:

<strong></strong>

instead of

HTML Code:

<b></b>

I dont think a page will validate if you use the later

**Charles** · 18 December, 2008, 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by Mr.Bill

Nice of you to put this together, Wouldn't it be better to use

HTML Code:

<strong></strong>

Personally, I wouldn't recommend using either. Use Heading tags, and alter your Cascading Style Sheet to be the equivalent of a <b> tag -- much better for your on-page SEO. If you want to use a <b> tag inside your content (which shouldn't be too often, anyway), then yes, it probably would be better to use a <strong> tag.

**Shenron** · 18 December, 2008, 09:42 AM

Another cool guide Charles!

Thx a lot.

**Charles** · 18 December, 2008, 15:56 PM

Originally Posted by Shenron

Another cool guide Charles!

Thx a lot.

You've read it -- so I'll consider it well worth my time.

**Codythebest** · 18 December, 2008, 16:27 PM

I read it too. Nice, quick, precise and easy. Good job...Can't wait the next tutorial

**elbandelero** · 28 December, 2008, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Charles

Personally, I wouldn't recommend using either. Use Heading tags, and alter your Cascading Style Sheet to be the equivalent of a <b> tag -- much better for your on-page SEO. If you want to use a <b> tag inside your content (which shouldn't be too often, anyway), then yes, it probably would be better to use a <strong> tag.

The only problem with using heading tags is that they are block level tags meaning if you bold some text within a paragraph and use a heading tag you are going to get a newline. You could convert certain heading tags to inline, but that defeats the purpose of having separate heading tags and the strong tag.

**Will.Spencer** · 28 December, 2008, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by elbandelero

The only problem with using heading tags is that they are block level tags meaning if you bold some text within a paragraph and use a heading tag you are going to get a newline.

Don't use heading tags within paragraphs.

But, do use heading tags. They aren't just for display, they are a very important part of SEO. Search engines use the contents of the heading tags to determine the relevance of a page as it relates to keyword searches.

Using your target keywords in your <h1>, <h2>, and <h3> tags will help you rank for those keywords.

**Charles** · 28 December, 2008, 20:50 PM

Originally Posted by elbandelero

The only problem with using heading tags is that they are block level tags meaning if you bold some text within a paragraph and use a heading tag you are going to get a newline. You could convert certain heading tags to inline, but that defeats the purpose of having separate heading tags and the strong tag.

I've never used a <b> tag inline on any of the Web sites that I've owned. I don't know why, it just looks ugly. I prefer to italize text.