HTML <html> Tag
Example
A simple HTML document, with the minimum of required tags:
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of the document</title>
</head>
<body>
The content of the document......
</body>
</html> |
Try it yourself » |
Definition and Usage
The <html> tag tells the browser that this is an HTML document.
The html element is the outermost element in HTML and XHTML documents. The html element is also known as the root element.
Browser Support
The <html> tag is supported in all major browsers.
Differences Between HTML and XHTML
The xmlns attribute is required in XHTML but it is invalid in HTML.
However, the HTML validator at w3.org does not complain when the xmlns attribute is missing in an XHTML document. This is because
the namespace "xmlns=http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" is default, and will be added to the <html> tag even if you do not include it.
Tips and Notes
Note: Even though the html element is the root element, it does not contain the doctype element. The doctype element must be placed before the html element.
Required Attributes
DTD indicates in which HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0
DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.
| Attribute |
Value |
Description |
DTD |
| xmlns |
http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml |
Specifies the namespace to use (only for XHTML documents!) |
STF |
Standard Attributes
The <html> tag supports the following standard attributes:
| Attribute |
Value |
Description |
DTD |
| dir |
rtl
ltr |
Specifies the text direction
for the content in an element |
STF |
| lang |
language_code |
Specifies a language code for the content in an element |
STF |
| xml:lang |
language_code |
Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in
XHTML documents |
STF |
More information about Standard Attributes.
Event Attributes
The <html> tag does not support any event attributes.
More information about Event Attributes.
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