What is the Difference Between Tag and Attribute in HTML

The main difference between tag and attribute is that a tag is a way of representing an HTML element in the program, while an attribute is a way of describing the characteristics of an HTML element.

Every business organization maintains a website. It helps to inform the customers about their products and services. Furthermore, the customer can send issues and feedback through forms. In shopping websites, the customer can perform transactions online. The basis of web technologies is HTML, which stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is the basis for other web technologies such as CSS and JavaScript. Overall, tag and attribute are two concepts related to HTML.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Tag in HTML
     -Definition, Functionality
2. What is Attribute in HTML
     -Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between Tag and Attribute in HTML
     -Comparison of key differences

Key Terms

Attribute, HTML, Tag

Difference Between Tag and Attribute in HTML - Comparison Summary

What is Tag in HTML

HTML contains various elements to build the content. Elements such as paragraph, horizontal lines and headings are used to develop the structure of all webpages. Programmer cannot write these elements directly on the website. He has to use tags to write specific elements to the webpage. Most elements have a start tag and an end tag. In other words, the elements are enclosed within the start and end tag. Furthermore, elements such as line break and horizontal line do not have close tags. Few example HTML elements with tags are as follows.

Difference Between Tag and Attribute in HTML

Figure 1: HTML elements with tags

What is Attribute in HTML

An attribute provides extra information about an HTML element. It has two sections: the name of the attribute and the value of that attribute.  The name defines the property that we require to set, while the value is a property that defines the value of that property. The programmer can write the value inside quotations.

Main Difference - Tag vs Attribute in HTML

Figure 2: HTML Elements with Attributes

Main attributes commonly used in HTML are id, title, class and style. The id is an attribute that helps to identify the elements within an HTML page uniquely, while the title attribute helps to provide a title to an element. Moreover, the class helps to identify a group of HTML elements, whereas the style attribute helps to provide styling to the elements. There are additional attributes like alt, width, height, src and lang.

Difference Between Tag and Attribute in HTML

Definition

A tag is a way of denoting an HTML element in the program. In contrast, an attribute is a way of defining the characteristics of an HTML element.

Consist of

Furthermore, a tag can be a starting tag or an ending tag, while an attribute consists of name and value.

Conclusion

In brief, HTML is the basic language for all other web technologies. It helps to create the structure of the web pages. Tag and attribute are two concepts related to HTML. The main difference between tag and attribute is that a tag is a way of representing an HTML element in the program, while an attribute is a way of describing the characteristics of an HTML element.

Reference:

1.HTML Elements, w3schools.com. Available here.
2.HTML Attributes, w3schools.com. Available here.

About the Author: Lithmee

Lithmee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Systems Engineering and is reading for her Master’s degree in Computer Science. She is passionate about sharing her knowldge in the areas of programming, data science, and computer systems.

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