HTML Document Structure

What Is It?

An HTML page has two main parts: head for page information and body for visible content.

What the Tags Mean

• html: wraps the page.
• head: contains the title and other information.
• title: names the browser tab.
• body: contains headings, text, and images.

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>
  <title>My notes</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Shopping list</h1>
  <p>Buy paper and pencils.</p>
</body>
</html>

What you see: My notes appears in the tab. Shopping list appears on the page.

Example 2: Another Use

Open this second complete page and check its browser tab. Its title is different from the visible heading.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Saturday shopping</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>My example page</h1>
<p>Look at the browser tab to check the title or icon. Meta tags describe the page without adding visible text.</p>
</body>
</html>

Simple Tip

Put visible text in body, not head.

Try It Yourself

Give the tab one name and the heading another.