Last updated Jun 26, 2026

HTML Page Structure

Definition: A complete HTML document has a standard skeleton. Every real web page starts with the same basic structure.

The boilerplate

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>My Page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome</h1>
</body>
</html>

What each part does

<!DOCTYPE html> — tells the browser this is HTML5
<html> — wraps the whole page
<head> — hidden info like the page title (shown on the browser tab)
<body> — everything visible on the page goes here

Nesting

Tags sit inside other tags, like boxes within boxes. The <body> holds your headings and paragraphs, which is where you will spend most of your time.

💡 Tip: indent nested tags (as above) to keep your code readable as pages grow.

Try it Yourself

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>My Page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome to my site</h1>
  <p>This text lives in the body.</p>
</body>
</html>

Output

◀ HTML & CSS Introduction Headings & Paragraphs ▶