<html>

Represents document root element

Definition and Usage

The <html> tag represents the root (top-level element) of an HTML document, so it is also referred to as the root element. All other elements must be descendants of this element.

The <html> element is the container for all HTML elements (except for the <!DOCTYPE> declaration) and defines the entire HTML document.

Important: The <html> tag MUST be the root element of every HTML document. There should be exactly one <html> element per page, and it must contain exactly one <head> and one <body> element.

Tip: Always include the lang attribute in the <html> tag to declare the language of the Web page. This is important for search engines and browsers, and helps screen readers pronounce words correctly.

Browser support and standards

Browser rendering and modern HTML conformance are different questions. Check the current element reference for the browsers and features your project needs; the older source version table is not a current compatibility guarantee.

Read the MDN element reference

Attributes

The <html> tag supports the following specific attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description
`lang`	language_code	Specifies the language of the document (e.g., "en", "es", "fr")
`dir`	ltr \| rtl	Specifies the text direction (left-to-right or right-to-left)
`xmlns`	http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml	Specifies the XML namespace (required for XHTML)

The <html> tag also supports all global attributes in HTML.

Examples

Basic HTML Structure

A complete HTML document with the html element:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>My Web Page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
  <p>This is a paragraph of text.</p>
</body>
</html>

HTML with Lang Attribute

Specify the language of the document:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>English Website</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Hello World</h1>
  <p>This page is in English.</p>
</body>
</html>

HTML with Direction Attribute

Specify text direction for right-to-left languages:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="ar" dir="rtl">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>موقع عربي</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>مرحبا بكم</h1>
  <p>هذه صفحة باللغة العربية.</p>
</body>
</html>

XHTML with Namespace

XHTML document with xmlns attribute:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
<head>
  <title>XHTML Document</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>XHTML Page</h1>
  <p>This is an XHTML document.</p>
</body>
</html>

Complete Modern HTML Document

A complete, modern HTML5 document structure:

Example

Unavailable or blocked: stylesheet “styles.css”; script “script.js”; fragment context “#home”; fragment context “#about”; fragment context “#contact”. Provide inline styles and scripts, embedded images or the missing HTML context. External requests and browser dialogs stay blocked.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <meta name="description" content="Page description">
  <title>Modern Web Page</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <h1>Website Header</h1>
    <nav>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
        <li><a href="#about">About</a></li>
        <li><a href="#contact">Contact</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
  </header>

  <main>
    <article>
      <h2>Article Title</h2>
      <p>Article content goes here.</p>
    </article>
  </main>

  <footer>
    <p>© 2024 My Website</p>
  </footer>

  <script src="script.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Document Structure

Every HTML document follows this basic structure:

<!DOCTYPE html>

                  <html lang="en">
                
                    <head>
                  
                    <meta charset="UTF-8">

                    <title>Page Title</title>

                    </head>
                  
                    <body>
                  
                    </body>
                  
                  </html>

<html>: Root element containing everything except DOCTYPE
<head>: Contains metadata, title, links to styles and scripts
<body>: Contains all visible page content

Importance of Lang Attribute

The lang attribute is crucial for accessibility and SEO:

Screen Readers: Helps screen readers pronounce words correctly in the specified language
Search Engines: Assists search engines in understanding content language for better indexing
Translation Tools: Enables browsers to offer translation services
Text-to-Speech: Ensures proper pronunciation and accent
Spell Checkers: Helps browsers select appropriate dictionaries
Quotation Marks: Different languages use different quotation marks; lang helps style them correctly

Common Language Codes

Language	Code	Example
English	`en`	`<html lang="en">`
Spanish	`es`	`<html lang="es">`
French	`fr`	`<html lang="fr">`
German	`de`	`<html lang="de">`
Chinese (Simplified)	`zh-CN`	`<html lang="zh-CN">`
Arabic	`ar`	`<html lang="ar" dir="rtl">`

HTML vs XHTML

HTML5

More lenient syntax
No xmlns required
Self-closing tags optional
Attributes can be unquoted
Standard for modern web

<html lang="en">

XHTML

Strict XML syntax
xmlns required
All tags must close
Attributes must be quoted
Rarely used today

<html xmlns="..." lang="en">

Best Practices

DO:

Always include the <html> tag as the root element
Always specify the lang attribute
Use lang="en" for English content (or appropriate language code)
Include exactly one <head> and one <body> inside <html>
Place <!DOCTYPE html> before the <html> tag
Use dir="rtl" for right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew)
Keep the <html> tag simple and clean

DON'T:

Omit the <html> tag (while technically optional, it's best practice to include it)
Forget the lang attribute
Use multiple <html> elements
Place content directly in <html> outside of <head> or <body>
Add styling or classes to the <html> tag unless necessary
Use xmlns in HTML5 (only needed for XHTML)

Accessibility Considerations

Lang Attribute Required: Always specify language to help screen readers
Text Direction: Use dir attribute for RTL languages
Consistent Structure: Proper html/head/body structure aids assistive technology
Language Changes: Use lang on specific elements when language changes within a page
Valid HTML: Proper structure starting with <html> ensures compatibility

Accessibility Tip: The lang attribute on the <html> tag is one of the most important accessibility features. It should be included on every single HTML page.

Related Tags

<!DOCTYPE>
Document type declaration
<head>
Document metadata container
<body>
Document body content
<title>
Document title
<meta>
Metadata information