Within HTML there are many tag types you can use to create the perfect website. Below is a table of all currently used HTML tags and their descriptions. Tags that are either deprecated, no longer in use, or are new to HTML 5 are notated in the description.
| Tag Name | What the tag defines |
|---|---|
| <abbr> | abbreviation |
| <acronym> | acronym (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <address> | contact information for the document author |
| <applet> | embedded applet (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <area> | area inside an image-map |
| <article> | article  (New in HTML 5) |
| <aside> | content aside from the page content (New in HTML 5) |
| <audio> | sound content (New in HTML 5) |
| <b> | bold text |
| <base> | defines the base URL/target for all relative URLs in an HTMLÂ document |
| <basefont> | defines the default font for text in entire document. (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <bdi> | isolates a specific part of text that may be differently formatted from text outside it. (New in HTML 5) |
| <bdo> | overrides the current text direction |
| <big> | defines big text (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <blockquote> | section of text that is quoted from another source |
| <body> | defines the body of the HTML document |
| <br /> | line break |
| <button> | clickable button |
| <canvas> | defines an area used to create, or draw, a graphic via a script. (New in HTML 5) |
| <caption> | table caption |
| <center> | centers text (Deperacated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <cite> | title of a work |
| <code> | section of computer code |
| <col> | column properties for each column within a <colgroup> element |
| <colgroup> | a group of one or more columns located within a table |
| <command> | command button (New in HTML 5) |
| <datalist> | a list of pre-defined options for input (New in HTML 5) |
| <dd> | description of an item in a definition list |
| <del> | text that has been deleted |
| <details> | additional details that the visitor is able to either view or hide at their discretion (New in HTML 5) |
| <dfn> | definition term |
| <dir> | defines a directory list (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML5) |
| <div> | generic organizational section |
| <dl> | definition list |
| <dt> | a term in a definition list |
| <em> | emphasized text |
| <embed> | container to insert an external (non-HTML), or non-standard object (New in HTML 5) |
| <fieldset> | container to group related elements |
| <figcaption> | caption for the <figure> element (New in HTML 5) |
| <figure> | self-contained content away from the main content (New in HTML 5) |
| <font> | font, color, and size for text (Deprecated in HTML 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <footer> | footer (New in HTML 5) |
| <form> | HTML form for used for visitor input |
| <frame> | a window in a <frameset> (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <frameset> | set of frames (No longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <h1> to <h6> | HTML headings, listed from largest (1) to smallest (6) |
| <head> | container for other head elements |
| <header> | header for a document or specific section (New in HTML 5) |
| <hgroup> | used to group the heading elements (<h1> – <h6>) (New in HTML 5) |
| <hr> | Horizontal Rule, used to create a break or change in content |
| <html> | root tag of an HTML document |
| <i> | italics |
| <iframe> | inline frame |
| <img /> | image |
| <input> | input control |
| <ins> | continer to define text that has been inserted |
| <kbd> | keyboard input |
| <keygen> | key-pair generator field (New in HTML 5) |
| <label> | label for the <input> element |
| <legend> | caption for <details> <fieldset>, <figure> |
| <li> | list item |
| <link> | defines a link to an external document, commonly used to link to style sheets |
| <map> | defines an image-map |
| <mark> | highlighted (marked) text (New in HTML 5) |
| <menu> | menu, or list, of commands |
| <meta> | metadata about the document |
| <meter> | scalar measurement within a known range (New in HTML 5) |
| <nav> | navigation link (New in HTML 5) |
| <noframes> | alternate content for browsers not using frame support (No longer supported in HTML5) |
| <noscript> | alternate content for browsers not using client-side scripting support |
| <object> | embedded object |
| <ol> | ordered list |
| <optgroup> | group of options in a drop-down list |
| <option> | option in a drop-down list |
| <output> | result of a calculation (New in HTML 5) |
| <p> | paragraph |
| <param> | parameter for an object |
| <pre> | preformatted text |
| <progress> | progress of a task (New in HTML 5) |
| <q> | quotation |
| <rp> | Specifies what content to display in browsers not supporting ruby annotations (New in HTML 5) |
| <rt> | explanation/pronunciation of characters (New in HTML 5) |
| <ruby> | ruby annotation (New in HTML 5) |
| <s> | text that is no longer correct |
| <samp> | sample output (from a computer program) |
| <script> | client-side script |
| <section> | section (New in HTML 5) |
| <select> | drop-down list |
| <small> | text smaller than the default |
| <source> | media resources for media elements such as <audio> and <video> (New in HTML 5) |
| <span> | a section in a document |
| <strike> | strikethrough text (Deprecated in 4.01, no longer supported in HTML 5) |
| <strong> | bold, or important, text |
| <style> | style information |
| <sub> | subscripted text |
| <summary> | visible heading for the <details> element (New in HTML 5) |
| <sup> | superscripted text |
| <table> | table |
| <tbody> | body content in a table |
| <td> | cell in a table, table data |
| <textarea> | multi-line text area |
| <tfoot> | footer cell in a table |
| <th> | header cell in a table |
| <thead> | header cell in a table |
| <time> | date/time (New in HTML 5) |
| <title> | title for the HTML document |
| <tr> | table row |
| <track> | text tracks for media elements such as <audio> and <video> (New in HTML 5) |
| <u> | underline |
| <ul> | unordered list |
| <var> | variable |
| <video> | video or movie (New in HTML 5) |
| <wbr> | opportunity for a line-break (New in HTML 5) |
Easy to understand format for a beginner like myself. Thanks.