The <!DOCTYPE> Declaration

The <!DOCTYPE> declaration is not an HTML tag; it is an instruction to the web browser about what version of HTML the page is written in.

In HTML 4.01, the <!DOCTYPE> declaration refers to a DTD, because HTML 4.01 was based on SGML. The DTD specifies the rules for the markup language, so that the browsers render the content correctly.

HTML5 is not based on SGML, and therefore does not require a reference to a DTD.

Tip: Always add the <!DOCTYPE> declaration to your HTML documents, so that the browser knows what type of document to expect.

Common DOCTYPE Declarations

HTML5

<!DOCTYPE html>

HTML 4.01 Strict

This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, but DOES NOT INCLUDE presentational or deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">

HTML 4.01 Transitional

This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, INCLUDING presentational and deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

HTML 4.01 Frameset

This DTD is equal to HTML 4.01 Transitional, but allows the use of frameset content.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Frameset//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/frameset.dtd">

XHTML 1.0 Strict

This DTD contains all HTML elements and attributes, but DOES NOT INCLUDE presentational or deprecated elements (like font). Framesets are not allowed. The markup must also be written as well-formed XML.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

HTML Doctypes