Top 50 HTML Tags Every Web Designer Should Know (Even If Gutenberg Has You Covered)

When you’re building websites with WordPress and using tools like Gutenberg, the need to know raw HTML might not come up as often as it used to.

After all, Gutenberg is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. It lets you create content visually without worrying too much about the underlying code. That said, understanding HTML can still be incredibly valuable for troubleshooting, customizing, or taking your web design to the next level.

Here are the top 50 HTML tags you should know and what they’re used for:

1. <html>: The root element of any HTML document. All your HTML code lives inside this tag.

2. <head>: Contains meta information about the document, like its title, character set, and linked resources such as stylesheets and scripts.

3. <title>: Defines the title of the webpage as shown in the browser tab or search engine results.

4. <meta>: Provides metadata about the HTML document, such as description, keywords, and viewport settings for responsive design.

5. <link>: Used to link external resources like CSS stylesheets to your document.

6. <script>: Embeds or links to JavaScript code for interactive functionality.

7. <body>: Contains all the visible content on your webpage.

8. <header>: Defines introductory content or navigational links, typically appearing at the top of the page or a section.

9. <nav>: Specifies a block of navigation links.

10. <main>: Denotes the main content of the document, unique to the page, and central to its purpose.

11. <section>: Defines a thematic grouping of content, often with a heading.

12. <article>: Represents a self-contained piece of content, like a blog post or news article.

13. <aside>: Used for secondary content, such as sidebars or pull quotes, that complements the main content.

14. <footer>: Defines footer content for a document or a section, typically including copyright or contact info.

15. <h1> - <h6>: Heading tags used to define headings of different levels, with <h1> being the most important.

16. <p>: Wraps paragraphs of text.

17. <a>: Defines hyperlinks to other documents or parts of the same document.

18. <img>: Embeds images into the page.

19. <ul>: Creates an unordered list with bullet points.

20. <ol>: Creates an ordered list with numbers or letters.

21. <li>: Represents each list item inside <ul> or <ol>.

22. <table>: Used to create a table for displaying tabular data.

23. <tr>: Defines a row within a table.

24. <td>: Specifies a cell within a table row.

25. <th>: Defines a header cell within a table, often bold and centered.

26. <div>: A generic container for grouping and styling content.

27. <span>: Used to apply styles or attributes to inline content.

28. <form>: Defines a form for collecting user input.

29. <input>: Defines an input field for user data, such as text, password, or file.

30. <textarea>: Creates a multi-line text input field.

31. <button>: Defines a clickable button.

32. <select>: Creates a dropdown menu for selecting options.

33. <option>: Defines an individual option within a <select> dropdown.

34. <label>: Associates a label with a form control for better accessibility.

35. <fieldset>: Groups related elements in a form.

36. <legend>: Provides a caption for a <fieldset>.

37. <iframe>: Embeds another HTML document within the current document.

38. <audio>: Embeds audio content, with support for playback controls.

39. <video>: Embeds video content, with support for playback controls.

40. <source>: Defines multiple media resources for <audio> and <video> elements.

41. <canvas>: Used for drawing graphics via scripting, often with JavaScript.

42. <svg>: Defines scalable vector graphics.

43. <strong>: Indicates strong importance, typically displayed as bold text.

44. <em>: Indicates emphasized text, typically displayed as italic.

45. <strong>: Displays text in bold without adding importance.

46. <em>: Displays text in italics without adding emphasis.

47. <blockquote>: Denotes a section quoted from another source.

48. <q>: Defines an inline quotation.

49. <code>: Represents a fragment of computer code.

50. <pre>: Defines preformatted text, preserving whitespace and line breaks.

Why You Might Not Need These Tags in Gutenberg

Gutenberg makes it easy to create pages and posts without diving into HTML. It provides blocks for all sorts of content—headings, paragraphs, images, tables, and more—allowing you to design visually. For example, if you add an image block, Gutenberg generates the <img> tag and any necessary attributes for you. The same goes for lists, tables, and navigation.

When Knowing HTML Comes in Handy

Even with Gutenberg’s ease of use, there are times when HTML knowledge is a lifesaver:

Customizing Blocks: Sometimes, you’ll need to tweak the HTML in a block to achieve a specific layout or functionality.
Troubleshooting: If something isn’t rendering correctly, looking at the HTML can help you diagnose the issue.
Advanced Features: Embedding custom code or integrating third-party tools often requires understanding the structure of HTML.

Conclusion

While you might not use raw HTML every day with Gutenberg, understanding the top 50 HTML tags will deepen your skills as a web designer and give you the confidence to tackle any challenge. Whether you’re troubleshooting, customizing, or creating from scratch, this foundational knowledge will always serve you well.