Suggest an edit

Improve this article

Refine the answer for “What does an HTML document consist of?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.

Approval required

Content

What you’re changing

Title (EN)

Short answer (EN)

Shown above the full answer for quick recall.

Answer (EN)

An HTML document consists of a **set of tags** that describe the **structure and content of a web page**.
Each tag tells the browser **exactly what to display**: a heading, text, an image, a link and so on.

---

### The basic structure of an HTML document

Here is an example of a basic template:

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Page title</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
    <p>This is my first HTML document.</p>
  </body>
</html>
```

Let's break it down part by part:

---

### 1. `<!DOCTYPE html>`

This is the **document type declaration**.
It tells the browser that the document is written in **HTML5**, the most current version of the language.

Without this line, the browser may interpret the page incorrectly.

---

### 2. `<html>...</html>`

This is the **root tag**, which contains **all the HTML code**.
Everything displayed on the page is located **inside it**.

The `lang="en"` attribute can be added to specify the page language:

```html
<html lang="en">
```

---

### 3. `<head>...</head>`

The section for **service information (metadata)**, which is **not displayed directly** on the page.

Here you set:

- the tab title (`<title>`);
- the encoding (`<meta charset="UTF-8">`);
- the stylesheet connection (`<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">`);
- the connection of scripts, fonts and icons.

Example:

```html
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>My site</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
</head>
```

---

### 4. `<body>...</body>`

This is the **main content of the page**: what the user sees.

Here you place:

- text (`<p>`),
- headings (`<h1>`-`<h6>`),
- images (`<img>`),
- links (`<a>`),
- lists, tables, forms and other elements.

Example:

```html
<body>
  <h1>Welcome!</h1>
  <p>My first site will be here.</p>
  <img src="photo.jpg" alt="Photo">
</body>
```

---

### Summary:

| Part | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `<!DOCTYPE html>` | Indicates that HTML5 is used |
| `<html>` | The root element of the document |
| `<head>` | Metadata (title, styles, encoding) |
| `<body>` | The main content of the page |

---

**Just remember:**
An HTML document is a **skeleton** made of three main parts:
the **declaration**, the **head**, and the **body**.
CSS and JavaScript already "dress up" and "bring to life" this skeleton.

Markdown · drag & drop images · ⌘B / ⌘I shortcuts353 words

For the reviewer

Note to the moderator (optional)

Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.