HTML Attributes
HTML attributes provide additional information about HTML
elements.
HTML Attributes
- All
HTML elements can have attributes
- Attributes
provide additional information about elements
- Attributes
are always specified in the start tag
- Attributes
usually come in name/value pairs like: name="value"
The href Attribute
The <a> tag defines a hyperlink.
The href attribute specifies the URL of the
page the link goes to:
Example
<a href=" https://fixhubblog.blogspot.com"> Visit our sites </a>
The src Attribute
The <img> tag is used to embed an
image in an HTML page. The src attribute
specifies the path to the image to be displayed:
Example
<img src="img.jpg">
There are two ways to specify the URL in the src attribute:
1. Absolute URL - Links to an external
image that is hosted on another website. Example: src="https://fixhubblog.blogspot.com/images/img.jpg".
Notes: External images might be under
copyright. If you do not get permission to use it, you may be in violation of
copyright laws. In addition, you cannot control external images; it can
suddenly be removed or changed.
2. Relative URL - Links to an image that
is hosted within the website. Here, the URL does not include the domain name.
If the URL begins without a slash, it will be relative to the current page.
Example: src="img.jpg". If the URL begins with a slash, it will be
relative to the domain. Example: src="/images/img.jpg".
Tips: It is almost always best to use
relative URLs. They will not break if you change domain.
The width and height Attributes
The <img> tag should also contain
the width and height attributes,
which specify the width and height of the image (in pixels):
Example
<img src="img.jpg" width="500" height="600">
The alt Attribute
The required alt attribute for
the <img> tag specifies an
alternate text for an image, if the image for some reason cannot be displayed.
This can be due to a slow connection, or an error in the src attribute,
or if the user uses a screen reader.
Example
<img src="img.jpg" alt="alternate
text">
Example
See what happens if we try to display an image that does not
exist:
<img src="img.jpg" alt="
alternate text ">
The style Attribute
The style attribute is used to add
styles to an element, such as color, font, size, and more.
Example
<p style="color:red;">This is a red paragraph.</p>
The lang Attribute
You should always include the lang attribute
inside the <html> tag, to declare the
language of the Web page. This is meant to assist search engines and browsers.
The following example specifies English as the language:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<body>
...
</body>
</html>
Country codes can also be added to the language code in the lang attribute.
So, the first two characters define the language of the HTML page, and the last
two characters define the country.
The following example specifies English as the language and United
States as the country:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<body>
...
</body>
</html>
The title Attribute
The title attribute defines some
extra information about an element.
The value of the title attribute will be displayed as a fixhub
when you mouse over the element:
Example
<p title="fixhub">This is a paragraph.</p>
We Suggest: Always Use Lowercase Attributes
The HTML standard does not require lowercase attribute names.
The title attribute (and all other attributes) can be written with
uppercase or lowercase like title or TITLE.
recommends lowercase attributes in
HTML, and demands lowercase
attributes for stricter document types like XHTML.
We Suggest: Always Quote Attribute Values
The HTML standard does not require quotes around attribute values.
However, recommends quotes in HTML, and demands quotes
for stricter document types like XHTML.
Good:
<a href=" https://fixhubblog.blogspot.com/html">Visit our HTML tutorial</a>
Bad:
<a href= https://fixhubblog.blogspot.com/html>Visit our HTML tutorial</a>
Sometimes you have to use quotes. This example will not display
the title attribute correctly, because it contains a space:
Example
<p title=About fixhub>
Single or Double Quotes?
Double quotes around attribute values are the most common in HTML,
but single quotes can also be used.
In some situations, when the attribute value itself contains
double quotes, it is necessary to use single quotes:
<p title='you "your" yours'>
Or vice versa:
<p title="you 'your' yours">
Chapter Summary
- All
HTML elements can have attributes
- The
hrefattribute of<a>specifies the URL of the page the link goes to - The
srcattribute of<img>specifies the path to the image to be displayed - The
widthandheightattributes of<img>provide size information for images - The
altattribute of<img>provides an alternate text for an image - The
styleattribute is used to add styles to an element, such as color, font, size, and more - The
langattribute of the<html>tag declares the language of the Web page
The title attribute defines some extra information about an element.
