HTML element

An HTML element is a type of HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document component, one of several types of HTML nodes (there are also text nodes, comment nodes and others).^[vague] The first used version of HTML was written by Tim Berners-Lee in 1993 and there have since been many versions of HTML. The current de facto standard is governed by the industry group WHATWG and is known as the HTML Living Standard.

An HTML document is composed of a tree of simple HTML nodes, such as text nodes, and HTML elements, which add semantics and formatting to parts of a document (e.g., make text bold, organize it into paragraphs, lists and tables, or embed hyperlinks and images). Each element can have HTML attributes specified. Elements can also have content, including other elements and text.

Additionally, HTML elements are defined by their tags, which include an opening tag, content, and a closing tag. Tags are used to denote the start and end of an element. For example, the <p> tag represents a paragraph element, with <p> marking the start and </p> marking the end. HTML documents typically follow a nested structure where elements can contain other elements, creating a hierarchy that defines the document's structure and presentation. The Document Object Model (DOM) represents this hierarchical structure, allowing scripts and styles to manipulate and interact with the content of the document dynamically.