Keep this cheatsheet handy — it contains the most common HTML tags and their proper syntax.
Contents
- Basic Tags
- Body Attributes
- Text Tags
- Links
- Formatting
- Tables
- Table Attributes
- Frames
- Frames Attributes
- Forms
Basic Tags
<html></html> Creates an HTML document
<head></head> Sets off the title and other information that isn’t displayed on the web page itself
<body></body> Sets off the visible portion of the document
Body Attributes
<body bgcolor="pink"> Sets the background color, using name or hex value
<body text="black"> Sets the text color, using name or hex value
<body link="blue"> Sets the color of links, using name or hex value
<body vlink="#ff0000"> Sets the color of followed links, using name or hex value
<body alink="#00ff00"> Sets the color of links on click
<body ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> Disallows text selection with the mouse and keyboard
Text Tags
<pre></pre> Creates preformatted text
<hl></hl> Creates the largest headline
<h6></h6> Creates the smallest headline
<b></b> Creates bold text
<i></i> Creates italic text
<tt></tt> Creates teletype, or typewriter-style text
<cite></cite> Creates a citation, usually italic
<em></em> Emphasizes a word (with italic or bold)
<strong></strong> Emphasizes a word (with italic or bold)
<font size="3"></font> Sets size of font, from 1 to 7
<font color="green"></font> Sets font color, using name or hex value
Links
<a href="URL"></a> Creates a hyperlink
<a href="mailto:EMAIL"></a> Creates a mailto link
<a href="URL"><img src="URL"> </a> Creates an image/link
<a name="NAME"></a> Creates a target location within a document
<a href="#NAME"></a> Links to that target location from elsewhere in the document
Formatting
<p></p> Creates a new paragraph
<p align="left"> Aligns a paragraph to the left (default), right, or center.
<br> Inserts a line break
<blockquote></blockquote> Indents text from both sides
<dl></dl> Creates a definition list
<dt> Precedes each definition term
<dd> Precedes each definition
<ol></ol> Creates a numbered list
<ul></ul> Creates a bulleted list
<li></li> Precedes each list item, and adds a number or symbol depending upon the type of list selected
<div align="left"> A generic tag used to format large blocks of HTML, also used for stylesheets
<img src="name"> Adds an image
<img src="name" align="left"> Aligns an image: left, right, center; bottom, top, middle
<img src="name" border="1"> Sets size of border around an image
<hr /> Inserts a horizontal rule
<hr size="3" /> Sets size (height) of rule
<hr width="80%" /> Sets width of rule, in percentage or absolute value
<hr noshade /> Creates a rule without a shadow
Tables
<table></table> Creates a table
<tr></tr> Sets off each row in a table
<td></td> Sets off each cell in a row
<th></th> Sets off the table header (a normal cell with bold, centered text)
Table Attributes
<table border="1"> Sets width of border around table cells
<table cellspacing="1"> Sets amount of space between table cells
<table cellpadding="1"> Sets amount of space between a cell’s border and its contents
<table width="500" or "80%"> Sets width of table, in pixels or as a percentage of document width
<tr align="left"> or <td align="left"> Sets alignment for cell(s) (left, center, or right)
<tr valign="top"> or <td valign="top"> Sets vertical alignment for cell(s) (top, middle, or bottom)
<td colspan="2"> Sets number of columns a cell should span (default=1)
<td rowspan="4"> Sets number of rows a cell should span (default=1)
<td nowrap> Prevents the lines within a cell from being broken to fit
Frames
<frameset></frameset> Replaces the <body> tag in a frames document; can also be nested in other framesets
<frameset rows="value,value"> Defines the rows within a frameset, using number in pixels, or percentage of width
<frameset cols="value,value"> Defines the columns within a frameset, using number in pixels, or percentage of width
<frame> Defines a single frame — or region — within a frameset
<noframes></noframes> Defines what will appear on browsers that don’t support frames
Frames Attributes
<frame src="URL"> Specifies which HTML document should be displayed
<frame name="name"> Names the frame, or region, so it may be targeted by other frames
<frame marginwidth="value"> Defines the left and right margins for the frame; must be equal to or greater than 1
<frame marginheight="value"> Defines the top and bottom margins for the frame; must be equal to or greater than 1
<frame scrolling="value"> Sets whether the frame has a scrollbar; value may equal “yes,” “no,” or “auto.” The default, as in ordinary documents, is auto.
<frame noresize="noresize"> Prevents the user from resizing a frame
Forms
For functional forms, you’ll have to run a script. The HTML just creates the appearance of a form.
<form></form> Creates all forms
<select multiple name="NAME" size=?></select> Creates a scrolling menu. Size sets the number of menu items visible before you need to scroll.
<option> Sets off each menu item
<select name="NAME"></select> Creates a pulldown menu
<option> Sets off each menu item
<textarea name="NAME" cols=40 rows=8></textarea name> Creates a text box area. Columns set the width; rows set the height.
<input type="checkbox" name="NAME"> Creates a checkbox. Text follows tag.
<input type="radio" name="NAME" value="x"> Creates a radio button. Text follows tag
<input type="text" name="NAME" size=20> Creates a one-line text area. Size sets length, in characters.
<input type="submit" value="NAME"> Creates a Submit button
<button type="submit">Submit</button> Creates an actual button that is clicked
<input type="image" border=0 name="NAME" src="name.gif"> Creates a Submit button using an image
<input type="reset"> Creates a Reset button
