HTML <html> Tag — Root Element

Description

The HTML <html> element represents the root (top-level element) of an HTML document, so it is also referred to as the root element. All other elements must be descendants of this element.

CSS Display:block

Syntax

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>...</head>
  <body>...</body>
</html>

Popular Attributes

Attribute	Description
lang	Specifies the language of the element's content (e.g. "en", "fr").
dir	Specifies the text direction. Values: ltr (left-to-right), rtl (right-to-left), auto.

This element also supports global HTML attributes such as class, id, style, data-*, and more.

Examples

Basic HTML Document

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>Title</title> </head> <body> <h1>Hello</h1> </body> </html>

A basic skeleton starting from the root html element.

Notes

A valid web document should start with the <!DOCTYPE html> declaration. Technically, it is not an HTML tag, but an instruction to the browser about the language version. The <html> tag follows immediately after it.

It is highly recommended to always include the lang attribute (e.g., <html lang="en">) to declare the document's primary language. This assists screen readers for accessibility and benefits SEO.

Related Tags

Last updated: 8th April 2026