| element | description | notes | sort by usage | read the w3cspec |
html | document root element | exactly one per document | document | spec |
head | document head | exactly one per document | document | spec |
title | document title | exactly one per document | document | spec |
body | document body | exactly one per document | document | spec |
a | anchor | | inline/phrase | spec |
abbr | abbreviated form | | inline/phrase | spec |
acronym | acronym | | inline/phrase | spec |
address | information on author | | inline/phrase | spec |
area | client-side image map | | inline/phrase | spec |
base | document base uri | | document | spec |
blockquote | long quotation | | block | spec |
br | forced line break | use for poetry only | | spec |
button | push button | | form | spec |
caption | table caption | | table | spec |
cite | citation | useful inline element | inline/phrase | spec |
code | computer code fragment | | inline/phrase | spec |
col | table column | | table | spec |
colgroup | table column group | | table | spec |
dd | definition description | part of the underused dl list type | list | spec |
del | deleted text | | inline/phrase | spec |
dfn | instance definition | | inline/phrase | spec |
div | generic container | | block level | spec |
dl | defintion list | underused list type | list | spec |
dt | definition term | part of the underused dl list type | list | spec |
em | emphasis (does not equal italics inherently | excellent inline element for calling out strings | inline/phrase | spec |
form | interactive form | can be top-level block element | form | spec |
h1, h2, ... h6 | heading | for calling out sections of a document | block | spec |
iframe | inline subwindow | | document | spec |
img | embedded image | | inline/phrase | spec |
input | form control | | form | spec |
ins | inserted text | | inline/phrase | spec |
kbd | text to be entered by the user | | inline/phrase | spec |
label | for field label text | underused - aides accessibility and usability | form | spec |
legend | fieldset legent | | form | spec |
li | list item | use with ol and ul | list | spec |
link | media independent link | one use it to include external .css files | document | spec |
map | client-side image map | | document | spec |
meta | generic meta information | generally in the head | document | spec |
noscript | alternate content container for non script-based rendering | | document | spec |
object | generic embedded object | | block | spec |
ol | ordered list | | list | spec |
optgroup | option group | use within form > select > option | form | spec |
option | selectable choice | use within form > select | form | spec |
p | paragraph | | block | spec |
param | named property value | | object | spec |
pre | preformatted text | | block | spec |
q | short inline quotation | | inline/phrase | spec |
samp | sample program output, script, etc | | inline/phrase | spec |
script | script statements | often within head | document | spec |
select | option selector | use within form | form | spec |
span | generic container | adds no semantic value, so try to use a different element | inline/phrase | spec |
strong | strong emphasis | does not inherently mean bold | inline/phrase | spec |
style | style info | for on-page css | document | spec |
sub | subscript | think twice before using | inline/phrase | spec |
sup | superscript | think twice before using | inline/phrase | spec |
table | data table top node | exclusively for tabular data such as a box score or financial results | block | spec |
td | table data cell | | table | spec |
textarea | multi-line text field | | form | spec |
th | table header cell | every table must have header cells | table | spec |
thead | table header | a good idea | table | spec |
tr | table row | | table | spec |
tt | teletype or monospaced text | | inline/phrase | spec |
ul | unordered list | more than bulleted lists can be expressed | list | spec |
var | instance of a program argument | | inline/phrase | spec |
