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Christensson","url":"https://techterms.com/authors/per_christensson"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechTerms.com","logo":"https://techterms.com/img/main/techterms.png"},"teaches":{"@type":"DefinedTerm","url":"https://techterms.com/definition/html","name":"HTML","description":"A technical definition of HTML"},"audience":{"@type":"Audience","audienceType":"everyone"},"genre":"Technology","inLanguage":"en-US","isFamilyFriendly":"True","keywords":"web, webpage, developer, source code, browser, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5","locationCreated":{"@type":"Place","name":"United States"},"text":"Stands for \"Hypertext Markup Language.\" HTML is the language used to create webpages. \"Hypertext\" refers to the hyperlinks that an HTML page may contain. \"Markup language\" refers to the way tags are used to define the page layout and elements within the page.","alternateName":"Hyper-Text Markup Language","url":"https://techterms.com/definition/html"} </script> </head> <body> <div id="full"> <header id="siteheader"> <div class="content"> <a href="#main" class="visuallyhidden">Skip to main content</a> <a href="/" class="logo"><img src="/svg/logo.svg" width="212" height="24" alt="TechTerms.com"></a> <div class="siteheader-middle"> <div class="searchwrapper collapsed"> <form id="search" class="search" action="/search" method="post"> <div class='autocomplete' role='combobox' aria-expanded='false' aria-owns='autocomplete-results'> <input type="text" id="term" name="term" placeholder="Search (e.g. html, router, dongle)" aria-label="Search (e.g. psd, docx, exe, jpg, zip)" autocomplete="off" class='autocomplete-input term' aria-autocomplete='both' aria-controls='autocomplete-results'> <button id="searchsubmit" class="searchsubmit"></button> </div> <ul id='autocomplete-results' class='autocomplete-results hidden' aria-label='Search'> </ul> </form> </div> <a href="/random" class="headerbutton random" id="random"><img src="/svg/random.svg" alt="random" width="16" height="16"></a> 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HTML is the language used to create <a href="/definition/webpage">webpages</a>. "Hypertext" refers to the <a href="/definition/hyperlink">hyperlinks</a> that an HTML page may contain. "Markup language" refers to the way <a href="/definition/tag">tags</a> are used to define the page layout and elements within the page.</p> <p>Below is an example of HTML used to define a basic webpage with a title and a single paragraph of text.</p> <p><span class="command"><!doctype html></span><br> <span class="command"><html></span><br> <span class="command"><head></span><br> <span class="command"><title></span>TechTerms.com<span class="command"></title></span><br> <span class="command"></head></span><br> <span class="command"><body></span><br> <span class="command"><p></span>This is an example of a paragraph in HTML.<span class="command"></p></span><br> <span class="command"></body></span><br> <span class="command"></html></span><br></p> <p>The first line defines what type of contents the <a href="/definition/document">document</a> contains. "<span class="command"><!doctype html></span>" means the page is written in <a href="/definition/html5">HTML5</a>. Properly formatted HTML pages should include <span class="command"><html></span>, <span class="command"><head></span>, and <span class="command"><body></span> tags, which are all included in the example above. The page title, <a href="/definition/metadata">metadata</a>, and <a href="/definition/link">links</a> to referenced files are placed between the <span class="command"><head></span> tags. The actual contents of the page go between the <span class="command"><body></span> tags.</p> <p>The <a href="/definition/www">web</a> has gone through many changes over the past few decades, but HTML has always been the fundamental language used to develop webpages. Interestingly, while <a href="/definition/website">websites</a> have become more advanced and interactive, HTML has actually gotten simpler. If you compare the <a href="/definition/source_code">source</a> of an HTML5 page with a similar page written in HTML 4.01 or <a href="/definition/xhtml">XHTML</a> 1.0, the HTML5 page would probably contain less code. This is because modern HTML relies on <a href="/definition/css">cascading style sheets</a> or <a href="/definition/javascript">JavaScript</a> to format nearly all the elements within a page.</p> <p><b>NOTE:</b> Many <a href="/definition/dynamicwebsite">dynamic websites</a> generate webpages on-the-fly, using a server-side scripting language like <a href="/definition/php">PHP</a> or <a href="/definition/asp">ASP</a>. However, even dynamic pages must be formatted using HTML. Therefore, scripting languages often generate the HTML that is sent to your web browser.</p> <div class="adBotLB"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1589236206757-0'> </div> </div> <div class="cardfooter"> <div class="upDate"><div class="author">Updated <span class="pdate">May 23, 2015</span> by <a href="/authors/per_christensson">Per C.</a></div></div><div id="citations"> <div class="tabs"> <div role="tablist" aria-label="citations"> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="apa" tabindex="-1">APA</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="mla" tabindex="-1">MLA</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="chicago" tabindex="-1">Chicago</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="html" tabindex="-1">HTML</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="link" tabindex="-1">Link</button> </div> <div class="citationwrap"> <div id="apa" role="tabpanel" class="citation" hidden> </div> <div id="mla" role="tabpanel" class="citation" hidden> </div> <div id="chicago" role="tabpanel" class="citation" hidden> </div> <div id="html" role="tabpanel" class="citation" hidden> </div> <div id="link" role="tabpanel" class="citation" hidden> <div>https://techterms.com/definition/html</div> </div> <button id="citecopy"><span class="visuallyhidden">Copy</span><svg enable-background="new 0 0 488.3 488.3" viewBox="-7.5 -7.5 495.8 503.3" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="m314.25 85.4h-227c-21.3 0-38.6 17.3-38.6 38.6v325.7c0 21.3 17.3 38.6 38.6 38.6h227c21.3 0 38.6-17.3 38.6-38.6v-325.7c-.1-21.3-17.4-38.6-38.6-38.6zm11.5 364.2c0 6.4-5.2 11.6-11.6 11.6h-227c-6.4 0-11.6-5.2-11.6-11.6v-325.6c0-6.4 5.2-11.6 11.6-11.6h227c6.4 0 11.6 5.2 11.6 11.6z" stroke-width="15"/><path d="m401.05 0h-227c-21.3 0-38.6 17.3-38.6 38.6 0 7.5 6 13.5 13.5 13.5s13.5-6 13.5-13.5c0-6.4 5.2-11.6 11.6-11.6h227c6.4 0 11.6 5.2 11.6 11.6v325.7c0 6.4-5.2 11.6-11.6 11.6-7.5 0-13.5 6-13.5 13.5s6 13.5 13.5 13.5c21.3 0 38.6-17.3 38.6-38.6v-325.7c0-21.3-17.3-38.6-38.6-38.6z" stroke-width="15"/></svg></button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> <div id="defquiz" class="card"> <h2 class="heading logoheading"><img src="/img/main/quiz.png" alt="quiz" style="width:45px">Test Your Knowledge</h2> <div class="quizBox"> <div class="quizBody"> <p class="quizQuestion">Which of the following services is primarily a search engine?</p> <div class="quizTable"> <div id="ansButtonA" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Anum" data-date="2022-02-07"><span class="ansLetter">A</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerA" class="quizAnswer">Facebook</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarA" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercA" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ansButtonB" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Bnum" data-date="2022-02-07"><span class="ansLetter">B</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerB" class="quizAnswer">Amazon</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarB" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercB" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ansButtonC" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Cnum" data-date="2022-02-07"><span class="ansLetter">C</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerC" class="quizAnswer">Pinterest</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarC" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercC" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ansButtonD" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Dnum" data-date="2022-02-07"><span class="ansLetter">D</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerD" class="quizAnswer">Yahoo!</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarD" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercD" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="quizResult"><div class="qmsg"> <b class="quizPass">Correct!</b> <b class="quizFail">Incorrect!</b>   <span class="customMessage"></span>  View the <a href="/definition/yahoo">Yahoo! definition</a>.</div> <a href="/quiz/#morequizzes" class="quizNext btnprimary">More Quizzes →</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="right"> <div class="prevnext"> <a href="hsl"><span class="arrow">‹</span>  <span class="linktext">HSL</span></a><span> | </span><a href="html5"><span class="linktext">HTML5</span>  <span class="arrow">›</span></a></div> <div class="tf card"> <h2 class="heading">Tech Factor</h2> <a href="/help/tech_factor" class="info" title="What is the Tech Factor?">?</a> <a href="/techfactor/3"><span class="factor">3</span><span class="denom"> / 10</span></a></div> <div class="listBox card related"> <h2 class="heading">Related Terms</h2> <div class="rlists"> <ol> <li><a href="/definition/html5">HTML5</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/xhtml">XHTML</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/css">CSS</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/javascript">JavaScript</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/webpage">Web Page</a></li> </ol> <ol start="6"><li><a href="/definition/web_publishing">Web Publishing</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/web_browser">Web Browser</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/www">WWW</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/developer">Developer</a></li> </ol> </div> </div> <div class="adRightSky"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1589233879778-0'> </div> </div> </div> <div class="techterms card"> <h2 class="heading">The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary</h2> <p>The definition of HTML on this page is an original definition written by the <a href="/authors/">TechTerms.com team</a>. If you would like to reference this page or cite this definition, please use the green citation bar directly below the definition.</p> <p>Our goal to explain computer terminology in a way that is easy to understand. We strive for accuracy and simplicity with every definition we publish. If you have feedback about this definition or would like to suggest a new technical term, please <a href="/contact">contact us</a>.</p> <h2 class="heading">TechTerms Newsletter</h2> <p>Improve your technical knowledge with our daily or weekly newsletter! 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