Document Structure (Web Design in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition)

8.4. Document Structure

A typical HTML document is divided into two major portions: the head and the body. The head contains information about the document, such as its title and "meta" information describing the contents. The body contains the actual contents of the document (the part that is displayed in the browser window). The following example shows the tags that make up the standard skeletal structure of an HTML document. Document structure is discussed more thoroughly in Chapter 9, "Structural HTML Tags".

<HTML>
  <HEAD>      
    <TITLE>Document Title</TITLE>      
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>      
    Contents of Document      
  </BODY>
</HTML>

HTML 4.01 specifies that the minimal HTML document should also include a line that identifies the HTML version using the <!DOCTYPE> declaration. This is discussed further in Chapter 9, "Structural HTML Tags". It is also recommended that documents include an <address> element that contains the name and contact information of the document's author, usually near the end of the document. This is slow to be adopted in common practice.