What is an HTML tag?

Learn what an HTML tag is, how it works and which important tags and attributes are relevant for web pages and search engine optimization.

What is an HTML tag?

HTML tags are the basic building blocks of a web page and form the structure of HTML documents. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language and is a standardized markup language used to design web pages.

How HTML tags work

HTML tags are used to organize and format the various elements and content of a web page. Each HTML tag usually consists of an opening tag and a closing tag, with the actual content in between. Tags are enclosed in angle brackets (<>) and may contain additional attributes to further affect the behavior or appearance of the tag.

Examples of HTML tags

  • <p></p>: A <p> tag defines a paragraph and is one of the most commonly used HTML tags for text elements.
  • <h1></h1> to <h6></h6>: The tags <h1> to <h6> are used to format headings in different sizes, where <h1> represents the largest heading and <h6> the smallest.
  • <img src=' ' alt=' ' />: With the <img> tag can be used to insert images into a website. The 'src' attribute specifies the source of the image and the 'alt' attribute adds a short description of the image as an alternative text in case the image cannot be displayed.
  • <a href=' ' target=' ' rel=' ' ></a>: With the <a> tag (a stands for anchor), hyperlinks to other websites or files can be created. The 'href' attribute specifies the target URL, while 'target' and 'rel' can influence the behavior of the link.

Important HTML tags for SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important aspect in web development. Some HTML tags play an important role in this:

  • : The title tag is essential for on-page SEO because it defines the title of a web page and is used by search engines to index and display the page in search results.
  • Meta tags are used to specify meta information of a web page. Examples are the meta description, which is a short summary of the page content for search engines, or meta information for indexing guidance for search engines (robots meta tag).
  • , ,
    and
    : These tags can be used to divide web page content into logical sections, which improves the readability of HTML code for humans and search engines.

More entries from the encyclopedia

What are talking URLs?

Talking URLs, also known as semantic or user-friendly URLs, are web addresses that are easy to understand and...

Looking for a reliable and competent marketing & WordPress agency?

Let's tackle your project together!

Bajorat Media has 4,9 from 5 Stars | 3055 Reviews on ProvenExpert.com