Should i use doctype html

In the example below, you can see the doctype declaration for the transitional version of HTML 4. This next example presents the doctype in the strict mode of HTML 4. The main difference between strict and transitional modes is that this one does not contain presentational and deprecated elements:. This HTML doctype declaration also contains all elements and attributes, but no presentational and deprecated elements.

However, it must be written in strict XML :. Learn to use HTML tag here! Code has been added to clipboard! Reading time 3 min. The previous article dissected the anatomy of the head section of an HTML document, looking briefly at what different things can be contained in the head, and what they do.

Now, that may look like a lot of nonsense to you, so let me offer a somewhat simplified explanation of how it is constructed. For a much more detailed look at exactly what each character refers to, see the article!

The most important parts of the doctype are the two strings delimited by quotes. Some web browsers even contain such functionality by default, while others can have it added by installing an extension. Most web browsers released in the 21st century look at the doctype of any HTML documents they encounter and use that to decide whether the author of the documents took care to write their HTML and CSS properly according to web standards.

In standards mode, browsers generally try to render the page according to the CSS specifications—they trust that the person who created the document knew what they were doing. As a web designer or developer, you will get the most consistent results by making sure that all browsers use their Standards rendering mode, hence you should stick to web standards, and use a proper doctype! As I mentioned earlier, the doctype is also used by validators, which you will learn more about later in this article series.

For now, all you need to know is that a validator is used to check that the syntax of your HTML document is correct and does not contain any mistakes. The validator programs look at the doctype you have used to determine what rules to use.

For example, if you reference a Javascript file — like core. This is a common issue for websites running on an Apache server. The HTML doctype declaration is a fundamental concept of coding.

Every HTML document requires a valid doctype declaration so that the browser displays your web page in the way you intended. Originally published Apr 23, AM, updated April 23 Logo - Full Color. Contact Sales. Overview of all products.

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