Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.

HTML Attributes

  • HTML elements can have attributes
  • Attributes provide additional information about the 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 <a> tag. The link address is provided as an attribute:

Example

<a href="http://www.JaffnaCampus.com">This is a link</a>

You will learn about links in a later chapter of this tutorial

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.

In some rare situations, like 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 full 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 class_rule or style_rule The class of the element
id id_name A unique id for the element
style style_definition An inline style definition
title tooltip_text  A text to display in a tool tip

For more information about standard attributes:

HTML Standard Attributes Reference