HTML Attributes

These pieces of information are used for extra details on an element of the webpage. They will govern the behavior or appearance of the element. Attributes are always applied in the opening tag and will be in the format of a name-value pair; that is, it consists of a name with an equals sign followed by its value within quotes.

For instance, while using an image tag called <img>, the source image file path is specified within a src attribute; that is, the alt attribute provides a description of an image for accessibility. Hence if you have an image you would use these attributes: tell the browser where it can find the image in case it cannot be rendered and what text to display for a screen reader.

Attributes can do a lot. The href attribute on a link (<a>) is what tells the browser where to go when the link is clicked. The class attribute is how you apply a class to an element so that you might then style it using CSS. The id attribute is used to uniquely identify an element on the page and thus for styling and JavaScript as well.

Some attributes are universal and can be applied to almost any HTML element. They are called global attributes and include things like id, class, style, and title. For example, you can use the title attribute to display extra information when a user hovers over an element.

In short, HTML attributes are what make elements functional and customizable. They determine everything from how content is presented to how users interact with the page, and they are a very important part of web development.