HTML Comments and Whitespace

What Is It?

A comment is a note in your code. The browser does not show it as page text.

What the Tags Mean

• <!-- ... -->: a comment.
• br: starts a new line.
• pre: keeps spaces and line breaks.

Example 1

Save each example as index.html and open it in your browser. Each code block is a complete page.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>HTML Comments and Whitespace</title>
 
</head>
<body>
<!-- This heading introduces the page. -->
<h1>My notes</h1>
</body>
</html>

What you see: Only My notes is visible.

Example 2: Another Use

Use pre when spaces and line breaks are part of the content.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>HTML Comments and Whitespace</title>
 
</head>
<body>
<pre>Monday    Read
Tuesday   Practise</pre>
</body>
</html>

Simple Tip

Pressing Enter in the HTML source usually does not create a visible line break. Use paragraphs or br when needed.

Try It Yourself

Add a comment above a paragraph. Confirm that it is not visible on the page.