HTML is the universal markup language for the Web.
To learn more about HTML, read our HTML tutorial.
HTML 2.0 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force HTML Working Group in 1996.
HTML 2.0 is an outdated version of HTML. For a Web developer there is no need to study the HTML 2.0 standard.
HTML 3.2 became a W3C Recommendation 14. January 1997. HTML 3.2 added new features such as fonts, tables, applets, superscripts, subscripts and more, to the existing HTML 2.0 standard.
One of the elements added to the HTML 3.2 standard, was the <font> tag. This tag introduced unnecessary complexity to the important task of separating HTML content (text) from its presentation (style). The <font> tag became deprecated in HTML 4.0.
HTML 4.0 became a W3C Recommendation 18. December 1997. A second release was issued on 24. April 1998 with only some editorial corrections.
The most important feature of HTML 4.0 was the introduction of style sheets (CSS).
Our W3C CSS chapter summarizes the W3C CSS activities.
HTML 4.01 became a W3C Recommendation 24. December 1999.
HTML 4.01 was a minor update of corrections and bug-fixes from HTML 4.0.
XHTML 1.0 reformulates HTML 4.01 in XML.
XHTML 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation 20. January 2000.
Our W3C XHTML chapter summarizes the W3C XHTML activities.
On January 22nd, 2008, W3C published a working draft for HTML 5.
HTML 5 improves interoperability, and reduces development costs, by making precise rules on how to handle all HTML elements, and how to recover from errors.
Some of the new features in HTML 5 are functions for embedding audio, video, graphics, client-side data storage, and interactive documents.
HTML 5 also contains new elements like <nav>, <header>, <footer>, and <figure>.
The HTML 5 working group includes AOL, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nokia, Opera, and many hundred other vendors.
| Specification | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| HTML 3.2 | 14. January 1997 |
| HTML 4.0 | 24. April 1998 |
| HTML 4.01 | 24. December 1999 |
| HTML 5 | 17. December 2012 (Candidate Recommendation) |
The XHTML specifications and timeline
are found in the next chapter.
The perfect solution for professionals who need to balance work, family, and career building.
More than 10 000 certificates already issued!
The HTML Certificate documents your knowledge of HTML.
The HTML5 Certificate documents your knowledge of advanced HTML5.
The CSS Certificate documents your knowledge of advanced CSS.
The JavaScript Certificate documents your knowledge of JavaScript and HTML DOM.
The jQuery Certificate documents your knowledge of jQuery.
The XML Certificate documents your knowledge of XML, XML DOM and XSLT.
The ASP Certificate documents your knowledge of ASP, SQL, and ADO.
The PHP Certificate documents your knowledge of PHP and SQL (MySQL).
Your message has been sent to W3Schools.