W3Schools.com

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 »

Browser Support

Internet Explorer Firefox Opera Google Chrome Safari

The <html> tag is supported in all major browsers.


Definition and Usage

The <html> tag tells the browser that this is an HTML document.

The <html> element is also known as the root element.

The <html> tag is the container for all other HTML elements (except for the<!DOCTYPE> tag).


Differences Between HTML and XHTML

The xmlns attribute is required in XHTML, but invalid in HTML.

However, the HTML validator at http://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.


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.


WEB HOSTING
Best Web Hosting
PHP MySQL Hosting
Best Hosting Coupons
UK Reseller Hosting
Cloud Hosting
Top Web Hosting
$7.95/mo SEO Hosting
Premium Website Design
WEB BUILDING
XML Editor - Free Trial!
FREE Website BUILDER
Free Website Templates Free CSS Templates
Make Your Own Website
W3SCHOOLS EXAMS
Get Certified in:
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, PHP, and ASP
W3SCHOOLS BOOKS
New Books:
HTML, CSS
JavaScript, and Ajax
STATISTICS
Browser Statistics
Browser OS
Browser Display
SHARE THIS PAGE