Understanding HTML Elements

What is an HTML Element?

Think of an HTML element as a basic building block for your webpage. It’s a piece of code that tells the browser what to show and how.

Parts of an HTML Element

Start Tag: This is the opening part of the element. For example, <p> starts a paragraph.

Content: This is what goes inside the element. For instance, "Hello, world!" is the content of a paragraph.

End Tag: This marks the end of the element. For a paragraph, it’s </p>.

Putting it all together: <p>Hello, world!</p> tells the browser to display "Hello, world!" as a paragraph.

Types of HTML Elements

Block-Level Elements:

These elements use up the full width of the page and start on a new line. Examples include:

• <h1> to <h6>: Different sizes of headings.
• <p>: Paragraphs of text.
• <div>: Boxes that group content.

Inline Elements:

These elements fit into the flow of the text and don’t start on a new line. Examples include:

• <a>: Links to other pages.
• <span>: Small parts of text.

Self-Closing Elements:

These elements don’t need an end tag and don’t have content inside. Examples include:

• <img>: Shows images.
• <input>: Creates fields in forms.

Attributes

Attributes add extra details to elements and are included in the start tag. For example:

• <a href="https://example.com">Click here</a>: The href attribute tells where the link should go.
• <img src="logo.png" alt="Company Logo">: The src attribute tells which image to show, and alt gives a description if the image doesn’t load.

Why It Matters

HTML elements are essential because they decide how your webpage looks and works. Knowing how to use them helps you build organized and interactive web pages.