HTML: Attributes

Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.

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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"

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Attribute Example

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

Example

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com">This is a link</a>

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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'

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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.

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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