htmlelementti

HTMLelementti, or HTML element, is the fundamental building block of HTML documents. It represents a piece of content or a structural unit and is defined by a start tag, optional attributes, and an end tag; some elements are void and do not have an end tag (for example <img>, <br>, <hr>). The element’s content is the content inside the tags, which may include text and other elements. Elements are arranged in a tree, the DOM, where each element can have children and a parent.

Attributes provide additional information or behavior. Common global attributes include id, class, style, and title; many elements also have element-specific attributes (href on a link, src on an image). Boolean attributes (such as disabled or hidden) may appear without a value. Data attributes (data-*) allow embedding custom data for scripts.

Semantics is a key aspect: certain elements convey meaning that aids accessibility, search engines, and user agents. Semantic elements such as <header>, <nav>, <main>, <section>, <article>, <aside>, <footer>, and <figure> structure documents, while others like <div> or <span> serve as generic containers.

In HTML, the document type and scripting are governed by standards maintained by WHATWG (living standard) and, historically, the W3C. In practice, HTML elements are represented in the DOM as nodes, enabling manipulation with JavaScript.

Example: <p id="intro" class="lead">HTMLelementti is a basic building block of web pages.</p>