All HTML guides

A working list of HTML meta tags grouped by what they affect: rendering, search results, preview cards, and crawler behaviour. Plus the ones now ignored.

The last-modified meta tag is read by nothing. What actually carries a modification date: the HTTP header, structured data, sitemaps, and visible text.

The title attribute shows a browser tooltip on hover. Why it is invisible on touch and to keyboard users, and a CSS tooltip that works everywhere.

Validate a form with required, type, pattern, min and max before writing any script. Attribute reference, the :invalid trap, and custom message wording.

A form with no action submits to its own page URL. What the browser does with GET and POST, when leaving it out is correct, and how to stop the reload.

Post an HTML form to a Google Sheet using Apps Script. The doPost function, the deployment settings that matter, and the CORS error everyone hits.

A hidden input carries a value the reader does not see but the server receives. What it is for, what it must never hold, and why it is not secure.

autocomplete="off" works for ordinary fields and is ignored for passwords. The tokens browsers actually honour, and when turning it off is the wrong call.

A date input only accepts YYYY-MM-DD in its value attribute, whatever the box displays. How to prefill it, default it to today, and avoid the timezone bug.

Removing bullets takes list-style plus a padding reset, and it silently drops list semantics in Safari. The two-line fix and the accessibility repair.

user-select: none stops text being selected, with prefixes for older Safari. Where it belongs, where it hurts readers, and why it protects nothing.

A password checked in JavaScript is visible in the page source. The routes that actually restrict access, ranked, and how to pick one for your case.

Build a QR scanner with getUserMedia and BarcodeDetector, with a library fallback. Why the camera needs HTTPS and fails when you open the file locally.

How the dark: variant works, the difference between the media and class strategies, and why a toggle does nothing until .dark reaches the html element.

Build tabs with radio inputs, :target links or :has(). Working markup for each, what each one costs in accessibility, and how to pick between them.

The details element gives you a working accordion with no script, and the name attribute makes it exclusive. Styling, printing, and the search caveat.

A pure HTML tooltip needs one attribute. When that is not enough, a CSS-only tooltip gives you styling and keyboard support with no script at all.

A working HTML copy button, the clipboard rules that break it, the fallback for pages served over http, and how to confirm it works after sharing.

The built-in progress element, when meter is the right tag instead, and the two-div CSS bar you style freely. Plus an accessible pattern for both.

Markup for a proper HTML checklist, why ticks vanish on reload, how to keep them in local storage, and when the list has to be shared instead.

A working todo list in one HTML file: add, complete, delete and keep items after a reload. Full source, plus what to change before you share it.

Copy-paste code for a live clock, a timezone board and a countdown. No account, no third-party embed, and nothing that another service can switch off.

One file with markup, styles and script inside. What a single HTML file app can and cannot do, where it beats a project, and how to get it to people.

Twelve things plain HTML does without a framework, from native dialogs and collapsible sections to editable tables, each with the tag that does the work.

What HTML alone builds, what it needs CSS or JavaScript for, and what it genuinely cannot do. With a table of real outputs and where each one ends up.

Nine HTML projects that need no CSS at all, what each one teaches, and why a page built on browser defaults is readable rather than unfinished.

A single-file Tailwind HTML template with a header, cards, a table and dark mode. What the CDN build is good for, and what to change before it goes public.

Two ways to add Tailwind to an existing HTML file: one script tag, or a compiled stylesheet. Which to pick, what breaks, and how to handle old CSS.

A Bootstrap HTML template with a navbar, grid, cards and a table. The two tags that load it, the classes doing the work, and how to share the result.

Send an invoice as a link instead of a PDF attachment. It opens on a phone, the totals stay readable, and correcting a figure does not mean resending the file.

Send a quote as a link instead of a PDF. Options stay comparable on a small screen, revisions do not create a second file, and you can see it was opened.

Share a contract as a link so both sides read the same version. What a link is good for, what still needs a signed file, and how to keep a record of what was agreed.

Send a proposal as a link instead of a slide deck or PDF. It opens on a phone, forwards cleanly inside the client, and you can revise without resending.

Put a menu at a web address instead of a PDF. It opens on a phone without pinching, prices change in seconds, and the QR code on the table never has to be reprinted.

Put a price list at one address instead of emailing a new PDF every time something changes. Customers keep one link, you change the numbers, nobody quotes last year.

Send a product catalogue as a link instead of a heavy PDF. It opens on a phone, buyers can search it, and discontinued lines come out without a reprint.

Send a brochure as a link rather than a designed PDF. It reads on the screen it lands on, you can see it was opened, and updating it does not mean a reprint.

Put a media kit at one link instead of emailing a PDF. Numbers stay current, brands forward one address internally, and you stop rebuilding it every month.

Put a press kit at one link instead of a zip file. Journalists get the facts and the images on deadline, and you stop answering the same three emails.

Send a case study as a link instead of a PDF. It opens on a phone, forwards inside the buyer as one version, and you can update a result when it improves.

Share a set of photos as a link anyone can open without signing in. No app, no account, no expiry, and the images stay at the size you chose.

Send your CV as a link instead of an attachment. It opens without a download, reads on a phone, and you can update it without resending anything.

Share a biodata as a link on WhatsApp instead of a photographed document. It stays readable, you control who sees it, and details can be corrected.

Share a thesis as a link alongside the deposited PDF. Readers can reach a chapter directly, figures stay legible, and the link survives longer than an email.

Share a dissertation as a link so a supervisor or reader opens the section they need. Works on a phone, no download, and the submitted file stays the record.

Share a research paper as a link so readers reach the figure or method they came for. Sits alongside the published version, which stays the citable record.

Share an essay as a link rather than a document. It opens without a download, reads properly on a phone, and you can keep editing after sending it.

Share a short story as a link readers open in one tap. Typography you control, no download, and a note on what posting does to first publication rights.

Share poems as a link so line breaks and indentation survive. What breaks poems on a phone, how to stop it, and what posting does to submission rights.

Share a novel as a link so beta readers reach a chapter directly and remember where they stopped. What to check before posting, and where agents want a file.

Deliver an ebook as a link readers open in one tap. No file format to choose, no app to install, and you can fix a typo after it has gone out.

Share a comic as a link so pages load at a size people can read on a phone. Panel order, image sizing, and what to do about the CBZ nobody can open.

Send a ticket as a link that works at the door on a weak signal. Barcode sizing, what to do about offline, and when you need a real ticketing system.

Send a gift voucher as a link that works on a phone at the counter. What to put on it, how redemption should work, and the limits of a page.

Share an interview or meeting transcript as a link. Timestamps become jumpable, speakers stay clear, and anyone can find the quote they need.

Share a visiting card as a link people can save to their contacts. Details stay current when you change job, and nothing gets typed in wrong.

Send a formal letter as a link that opens on a phone and prints correctly. Where a signed document is still required, and what to put on the page.

Send written feedback as a link so each point can be referenced directly. Works for design reviews, client notes and written critique.

Share a document as a link nobody has to request access to. Why Google Doc links get blocked, what the recipient sees, and when to publish a plain page instead.

Send a Word document as a link instead of a .docx attachment. It opens on a phone, survives mail filters, and the recipient needs nothing installed.