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A great quick reference for the transition from HTML 4 to HTML 5. Designed to help authors create polyglot HTML documents, this can also help in creating HTML 4 and XHTML documents, in addition to upgrading to HTML 5. Most HTML cheat sheets, usually based on the technical specifications for a specific version of HTML, show only the valid features in that version of the HTML specs. In contrast, this one helps developers transition from earlier versions of HTML by indicating new features in HTML 5 with a "New" flag and using a strike-through font to indicate the tags and attributes previously used in HTML 4, XHTML 1 and earlier versions that are now obsolete in HTML 5.
For a quick reference of HTML character entities, see the HTML character codes reference.
Required or recommended HTML attributes for the HTML tags are shown in bold.
| pagename.html | Purpose | Attributes |
|---|---|---|
| <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> | xml declaration, recommended |
version,
encoding
|
| <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="/template.xsl"?> | stylesheet processing instruction, optional |
type, href
|
| <!DOCTYPE html> | document type declaration, recommended |
PUBLIC, SYSTEM
|
| <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> | <html> top element tag, required |
xmlns
manifest
version
common
|
|
<head>
|
head section, required |
profile
common
|
|
<title>...</title>
...other head section tags... |
title tag, required HTML Head Section Tags |
common attributes |
| </head> | End of <head> section | |
|
<body>
...body tags... |
<body> tag, required HTML Body Tags |
alink
background
bgcolor
link
onafterprint
onbeforeprint
onhashchange
onmessage
onoffline
ononline
onpopstate
onredo
onstorage
onundo
text
vlink
common
|
| </body> | End of body of HTML document | |
| </html> | End of HTML document |
HTML Character EntitiesMiscellaneous
Tag and Attribute CodingDefinition: Polyglot HTML Documents: HTML documents that can be parsed as either text/html or as an XML type such as application/xhtml+xml. TagsProperly Nested Tags<p>...</p> <p>... <P>...</P>
Empty Tags<br/> <br>
AttributesQuoted Attributes<abbr title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</abbr> Style Attributes<table width="100%"> Boolean Attributes<option selected="selected"/> Definitions of Acronyms and AbbreviationsDefined term, not definition, in
|
| Namespace URI Declaration | Purpose |
|---|---|
| xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" | HTML |
| xmlns:mathml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" | MathML |
| xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" | SVG |
| xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" | XML schema instance document |
| "http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace" (implicit) | XML |
| HTML Tag | Purpose | Attributes |
|---|---|---|
| <base/> | base URL for other URLs in the document |
href
target
|
| <basefont> | base font, deprecated | |
| <isindex> | input field to submit keyword-based query, deprecated | |
| <link/> | reference to external resource |
href
rel
charset
hreflang
media
rev
sizes
target
title
type
common
|
| <meta http-equiv="..."/> | HTTP header equivalent |
http-equiv
content
charset
|
| <meta name="..."/> | document metadata |
name
content
charset
scheme
common
|
| <script> | dynamic HTML script |
async
charset
defer
language
src
type
|
| <style> | style definitions |
media
type
scoped
title
|
| <title> | page title | common |
| HTML Metatag | Purpose | Content |
|---|---|---|
| http-equiv="Cache-Control" | cache control | |
| http-equiv="Content-Disposition" | embedded content or attachment | |
| http-equiv="Content-Language" | equivalent to
HTTP
Content-Language header, deprecated
|
|
| http-equiv="Content-Type" | content media type | |
| http-equiv="Default-Style" | ||
| http-equiv="Expires" | cache expiration date | |
| http-equiv="Refresh" | refresh or redirect | |
| http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" | user agent compatibility | |
| name="author" | author | |
| name="classification" | ||
| name="copyright" | copyright notice | |
| name="description" | description | |
| name="formatter" | ||
| name="generator" | ||
| name="google" | Google archive directive | |
| name="googlebot" | Google robot directive | |
| name="HandheldFriendly" | for pages designed for handheld devices |
content="true"
|
| name="keywords" | keywords | |
| name="rating" | rating | |
| name="robots" | robots directive | |
| name="verify" | ||
| name="viewport" | viewport size for small-screen / handheld devices |
| Attribute | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| accesskey="..." | single case-insensitive character to change focus, deprecated | |
| class="..." | space-separated list of class names for CSS or dynamic selection |
class="todo high" matches .todo and .high selectors in CSS |
| contenteditable="..." | New | |
| contextmenu="..." | New | |
| data-*="..." | New author-defined attributes | |
| dir="..." | ||
| draggable="..." | New | |
| id="..." | ||
| hidden="..." | New | |
| lang="..." | ISO 639-1 language code, ISO 3166-1 country code, variant |
lang="en"
lang="en-US"
|
| spellcheck="..." | New | |
| style="..." | inline styles separated by semicolons | |
| tabindex="..." | ||
| title="..." | title | |
| xml:lang="..." | same as lang
|
use lang instead, without the "xml:" prefix |
| Attribute | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| onabort="..." | abort event | |
| onbeforeonload="..." | before onload event | |
| onbeforeunload="..." | before unload event | |
| onblur="..." | lost focus event | |
| onchange="..." | content changed event | |
| onclick="..." | mouse clicked event | |
| oncontextmenu="..." | context menu event | |
| oncopy="..." | copy event | |
| oncut="..." | cut event | |
| ondblclick="..." | mouse double-clicked event | |
| ondrag="..." | drag event | |
| ondragend="..." | drag ended event | |
| ondragenter="..." | drag entered event | |
| ondragleave="..." | drag exited event | |
| ondragover="..." | drag over event | |
| ondragstart="..." | drag start event | |
| ondrop="..." | drop event | |
| onerror="..." | error event | |
| onfocus="..." | gained focus event | |
| ongesturechange="..." | gesture change event | |
| ongestureend="..." | end of gesture event | |
| ongesturestart="..." | start of gesture event | |
| onkeydown="..." | key pressed down event | |
| onkeypress="..." | key pressed event | |
| onkeyup="..." | key released event | |
| onload="..." | document loaded event | |
| onmousedown="..." | mouse button pressed down event | |
| onmousemove="..." | mouse moved event | |
| onmouseout="..." | mouse cursor exited event | |
| onmouseover="..." | mouse cursor entered event | |
| onmouseup="..." | mouse button released event | |
| onmousewheel="..." | mouse wheel rotated event | |
| onmove="..." | move event | |
| onorientationchange="..." | device orientation changed event | |
| onpaste="..." | paste event | |
| onreset="..." | form reset event | |
| onresize="..." | resize event | |
| onscroll="..." | scroll event | |
| onselect="..." | select event | |
| onsubmit="..." | form submit event | |
| ontouchcancel="..." | touch cancelled event | |
| ontouchend="..." | touch ended event | |
| ontouchmove="..." | touch move event | |
| onstouchstart="..." | touch started event | |
| onunload="..." | document unloaded event |
| Media Type | Description |
|---|---|
all
|
for all device types, default |
aural
|
for speech synthesizers |
braille
|
for braille printers |
handheld
|
for handheld devices such as cell phones, PDAs and other mobile Internet devices |
print
|
for printers |
projection
|
for projection displays |
screen
|
for traditional computer-based web browsers |
tty
|
for teletypes and other media with fixed-width-character output |
tv
|
for televisions and similar devices with limited input capability |
screen,handheld
|
comma-separated "or"-ed list |
handheld and (min-width:200px)
|
expressions with media queries |
| Directive | Purpose |
|---|---|
| DirectoryIndex /index.html | default page |
| ErrorDocument 404 /error.html | error page |
| AddType application/xhtml+xml;charset=utf-8 html | HTML 5 media type |
| HTML Tag | Purpose | Attributes |
|---|---|---|
| <a href="..." ...> | hypertext link |
href
accesskey
charset
coords
hreflang
media
ping
rel
rev
shape
target
type
|
| <a id="..."/> | ../definitions/placemark link (anchor) |
id
name
|
| <abbr> | acronym or abbreviation |
clear
common
|
| <acronym> | acronyms, deprecated | |
| <address> | contact information for ancestor <article> or <body> | common |
| <applet> | Java applets, deprecated | |
| <area/> | area inside image maps |
accesskey
alt
coords
href
hreflang
media
nohref
ping
rel
shape
target
type
common
|
| <article> | New sectioning tag for main article |
pubdate
common
|
| <aside> | New sectioning tag for sidebar | common |
| <audio> | New embedded audio content |
autobuffer
autoplay
controls
loop
src
common
|
| <b> | bold keywords or other text with no extra importance | common |
| <bb> | New |
type
common
|
| <bdo> | bi-directional text override |
dir
common
|
| <bgsound> | background sound, deprecated | |
| <big> | larger text, deprecated | |
| <blockquote> | block of quoted text |
cite
common
|
| <br/> | line break | common |
| <button> | standalone pushbutton |
accesskey
autofocus
disabled
form
formaction
formenctype
formmethod
formnovalidate
formtarget
name
type
value
common
|
| <canvas> | New |
height
width
common
|
| <caption> | table caption |
align
common
|
| <center> | centered blocks, deprecated | |
| <cite> | citation | common |
| <code> | program code | common |
| <col/> | table column |
align
char
charoff
span
valign
width
common
|
| <colgroup> | group of table columns |
align
char
charoff
span
valign
width
common
|
| <command/> | New |
accesskey
checked
default
disabled
hidden
icon
label
radiogroup
type
common
|
| <datagrid> | New |
disabled
common
|
| <datalist> | New | common |
| <dd> | definition description | common |
| <del> | deleted text |
cite
datetime
common
|
| <details> | New |
open
common
|
| <dialog> | New | common |
| <dir> | directory listing, deprecated | |
| <div> | division |
align
common
|
| <dfn> | inline defined term |
title="defined term"
title="definition"
common
|
| <dl> | definition list |
compact
common
|
| <dt> | term defined in list | common |
| <em> | emphasized text | common |
| <embed/> | New |
height
src
type
width
common
|
| <fieldset> |
disabled
form
name
common
|
|
| <figure> | New | common |
| <fn> | footnotes, deprecated | |
| <font> | font, deprecated | |
| <footer> | New footer section | common |
| <form> | form |
accept
accept-charset
action
data
enctype
method
replace
target
common
|
| <frame> | frames, deprecated | |
| <frameset> | top level element for a web page with frames, deprecated | |
| <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> | heading levels 1-6 |
align
common
|
| <header> | New header section | |
| <hgroup> | New group of headings for section | common |
| <hr/> | horizontal rule for a thematic break |
align
noshade
size
width
common
|
| <i> | italics for technical terms, phrases in other languages, etc. | common |
| <iframe> | inline frame |
align
frameborder
height
longdesc
marginheight
marginwidth
name
sandbox
seamless
scrolling
src
width
common
|
| <img/> | image |
align
alt
border
height
hspace
ismap
longdesc
name
src
usemap
vspace
width
common
|
| <input/> | input field or control |
accept
accesskey
align
alt
autocomplete
autofocus
checked
disabled
form
formaction
formenctype
formmethod
formnovalidate
formtarget
height
list
max
maxlength
min
multiple
name
pattern
placeholder
readonly
required
size
src
step
type
value
width
common
|
| <ins> | inserted text |
cite
datetime
common
|
| <kbd> | keyboard input | common |
| <label> | label for form control |
for
common
|
| <legend> |
accesskey
align
common
|
|
| <li> | list item |
type
value (<ol> only)
common
|
| <mark> | New mark selected text | common |
| <map> | image map |
name
common
|
| <menu> | menu list |
compact
label
type
common
|
| <meter> | New meter or gauge |
high
low
max
min
optimum
value
common
|
| <nav> | New navigation section | common |
| <noembed> | Alternate content to be displayed when the <embed/> tag is not supported, deprecated | No replacement needed since the embed tag has been standardized in HTML 5 |
| <noframes> | Alternate content to be displayed when frames are not supported, deprecated | No replacement needed since frames have been removed from the HTML 5 standard |
| <noscript> | fallback content when scripting is disabled | common |
| <object> | embedded object |
align
archive
border
classid
codebase
codetype
data
declare
height
hspace
object
standby
type
usemap
vspace
width
common
|
| <ol> | ordered list |
compact
reversed
start
type
common
|
| <optgroup> | option group |
disabled
label
common
|
| <option> | option in selection list |
disabled
label
selected
value
common
|
| <output> | New |
form
common
|
| <p> | paragraph |
align
common
|
| <param/> | parameter for object |
name
type
value
valuetype
common
|
| <pre> | preformatted text |
width
common
|
| <progress> | New progress bar |
max
value
common
|
| <q> | quotation |
cite
common
|
| <rp> | New parenthesized ruby text | common |
| <rt> | New ruby text | common |
| <ruby> | New ruby annotation | common |
| <s> | strike-through text, deprecated | |
| <samp> | sample program code | common |
| <section> | New section |
cite
common
|
| <select> | selection list |
autofocus
data
disabled
form
multiple
name
common
|
| <small> | smaller text for comments and legalese | common |
| <source/> | New external media source |
media
src
type
common
|
| <span> | inline group | common |
| <strike> | strike-through text, deprecated | |
| <strong> | text with greater importance | common |
| <sub> | subscript | common |
| <sup> | superscript | common |
| <table> | table layout |
align
bgcolor
border
cellpadding
cellspacing
frame
rules
summary
width
common
|
| <tbody> | table body |
align
char
charoff
valign
common
|
| <td> | table cell |
abbr
align
axis
bgcolor
char
charoff
colspan
headers
height
nowrap
rowspan
scope
valign
width
common
|
| <textarea> | text input area |
accesskey
autofocus
cols
disabled
form
maxlength
name
placeholder
readonly
required
rows
wrap
common
|
| <tfoot> | table footer |
align
char
charoff
valign
common
|
| <th> | table column heading |
abbr
align
axis
bgcolor
char
charoff
height
nowrap
valign
width
common
|
| <thead> | table heading |
align
char
charoff
valign
common
|
| <time> | New time and/or date |
datetime
common
|
| <tr> | table row |
align
bgcolor
char
charoff
valign
common
|
| <tt> | teletype text, deprecated | |
| <u> | underlined text, deprecated | |
| <ul> | unordered list |
compact
type
common
|
| <var> | variable | common |
| <video> | New embedded video |
autobuffer
autoplay
controls
height
loop
poster
src
width
common
|
| <xmp> | example code using preformatted text, deprecated |
Last updated Sunday September 19, 2010
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HTML Cheat Sheet for Transition to HTML 5
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