HTML Tags Complete Reference – Part 2
Learn about the basic structure of HTML tags and how they’re used to build the foundation for a web page and its components.
From beginning to end, the very structure of an HTML web page design is made up of HTML tags. Here 
are the foundational HTML tags and the functions of each.
Defining the Document
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “”>
This is the first tag in the page. It defines what type or version is being used, i.e. HTML 4.0. It may look like this in its complete form:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “//W3C//DTD/HTML 4.0//EN”>
<HTML>
This tag defines that the HTML web page begins here. It has an ending tag as well:
</HTML>
The ending tag will be included at the very bottom of the document code – after all other HTML tags. It encloses the entire web page code.
<HEAD>
The “head” HTML tag defines a section of the web page that gives the page certain attributes that are not actually seen on the web page by your website visitors. Within the “head” tags, other HTML tags are included such as META tags, comments, etc.
Even certain form scripts or other codes might be inserted in the web page’s “head” section.
The ending for this HTML tag is:
</HEAD>
<TITLE>
This defines the title or headline to your web page. It is often displayed in search engines as a title for your listings. It is also important in search engine optimization.
The title should be written just as a “headline” with effective words to lure your target audience to the web page. The title tag is placed within the head tag and is not actually visible on your web pages online.
The title HTML tag also has an ending tag:
</TITLE>
<BODY>
The body tag defines the actual body (or visible) portion of a web page. The body will contain the web page text, images, links, menus, etc. Its ending tag is:
</BODY>
<META>
The META tag makes it possible to add other descriptions within the head of a web page. The page description is usually a couple of sentences briefly describing the theme of the web page.
This too is often displayed within search engine listings for your website. Also, keywords to further identify what a page is all about can be included in the META tags.
Here’s an example of a full “META Tags” code:
<meta name=”description” content=”Learn web design from home with simple instructions. Go here for free web design tips…”>
<meta name=”keywords” content=”web design training, webmaster course, webmaster certificate, graphic design training, web promotion, web course, webmaster training, beginners web design courses”>
<! >
The comment tag allows for comments to be added in your code that are not visible on your web pages.
These can be notes or hints to yourself to make designing or updating the page later on much easier.
Here’s an example with a comment included in the tag:
<!Start subscriber form code here>
This concludes the HTML Tags Complete Reference Part 2.
**NOTE: The good news is you don’t have to know everything there is to know about HTML tags to design your website.You can actually get started with your own website by just knowing the basics! So, relax as you learn and don’t worry about trying to absorb too much at once.
