HTML Attributes

Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.

HTML Attributes

HTML elements can have attributes
Attributes provide additional information about an element
Attributes are always specified in the start tag
Attributes come in name/value pairs like: name="value"
Attribute Example

HTML links are defined with the tag. The link address is specified in the href attribute:

Example

This is a link

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Always Quote Attribute Values

Attribute values should always be enclosed in quotes.

Double style quotes are the most common, but single style quotes are also allowed.

Tip: In some rare situations, when the attribute value itself contains quotes, it is necessary to use single quotes: name='John "ShotGun" Nelson'

HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Attributes

Attribute names and attribute values are case-insensitive.

However, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase attributes/attribute values in their HTML 4 recommendation.

Newer versions of (X)HTML will demand lowercase attributes.

HTML Attributes Reference

A complete list of legal attributes for each HTML element is listed in our:

Complete HTML Reference

Below is a list of some attributes that are standard for most HTML elements:

Attribute Value Description
class classname Specifies a classname for an element
id id Specifies a unique id for an element
style style_definition Specifies an inline style for an element
title tooltip_text Specifies extra information about an element (displayed as a tool tip)
For more information about standard attributes:

HTML Standard Attributes Reference