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HTML Tag
An HTML tag is an element of the HTML markup language that defines the structure and content of a web page.
Each HTML tag is enclosed in angle brackets and can have an opening and closing tag (e.g., <p>and </p> for a paragraph or <div> for divisions).
HTML tags determine how various page elements, such as text, images, links, and forms, are displayed and function within the browser. HTML tags also include attributes – always placed within the opening tag – that provide additional information or change the behavior of the element (e.g., the href attribute in the <a> tag to define the destination URL of a link): these attributes consist of a name-value pair, separated by an equal sign, and the value is typically enclosed in quotation marks. Attributes provide additional information about an HTML element, such as the address of a hyperlink, the source of an image, or custom CSS styles, allowing the behavior of elements to be customized and providing important information for both the user and search engines.
There are hundreds of HTML tags, each of which has a specific meaning and tells the browser how to interpret the content within the tag, affecting how an HTML element is displayed.
Meta tags are a special type of HTML tag, differing in at least 3 characteristics:
- Function. HTML tags are used to structure and display the content of a page, whereas meta tags provide information about the HTML document that does not directly affect the display of the content.
- Visibility. HTML tags are responsible for the visible presentation of the content of a web page, while meta tags operate “behind the scenes,” providing data that can be read by browsers and search engines but are not visible to users.
- Location. HTML tags can be found throughout the HTML document, while meta tags are specifically located within the <head> element of the page.
