The <!DOCTYPE> declaration must be the very
first thing in the HTML document, before the <html> tag.
The <!DOCTYPE> declaration is not an HTML
tag; it is an instruction to the web browser about what version of HTML the
page is written in.
In the previous versions of HTML, the
<!DOCTYPE> declaration refers to a DTD (Document Type Definition),
because they are based on SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language).
The DTD specifies the rules for the markup
language, so that the browsers render the content correctly. HTML5 is not based on SGML, and so does not
require a reference to a DTD.
Common <DOCTYPE> Declarations:
HTML 5:<!DOCTYPE html>
HTML 4.01 Strict: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, but does not include deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed.
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML
4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
HTML 4.01 Transitional: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, including presentational and deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed.
HTML 4.01 Transitional: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, including presentational and deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed.
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML
4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
HTML 4.01 Frameset: This DTD is equal to HTML 4.01 Transitional, but allows the use of frameset content.
HTML 4.01 Frameset: This DTD is equal to HTML 4.01 Transitional, but allows the use of frameset content.
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML
4.01 Frameset//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/frameset.dtd">
XHTML 1.0 Strict: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, but does not include presentational or deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed. The markup must also be written as well-formed XML.
XHTML 1.0 Strict: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, but does not include presentational or deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed. The markup must also be written as well-formed XML.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML
1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
XHTML 1.0 Transitional: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, including presentational and deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed. The markup must also be written as well-formed XML.
XHTML 1.0 Transitional: This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, including presentational and deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed. The markup must also be written as well-formed XML.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML
1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
XHTML 1.0 Frameset: This DTD is equal to XHTML 1.0 Transitional, but allows the use of frameset content.
XHTML 1.0 Frameset: This DTD is equal to XHTML 1.0 Transitional, but allows the use of frameset content.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML
1.0 Frameset//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-frameset.dtd">
XHTML 1.1: This DTD is equal to XHTML 1.0 Strict, but allows to add modules.
XHTML 1.1: This DTD is equal to XHTML 1.0 Strict, but allows to add modules.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML
1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
A very simple HTML5 web page can be as simple as
below:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>HTML5 is rocks!</title> </head>
<body>
<h1>HTML5 Rocks!</h1> </body>
</html>