Web Quality Assurance Elements

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# Web Quality - Important HTML Elements

<DOCTYPE>, <title>, and <h1> are important tags to web page quality.

## The <DOCTYPE> Element

Doctype means a "document type declaration" (DTD).

All HTML and XHTML pages should use a <Doctype> element to define which HTML version it conforms to.

The doctype defines which version of HTML you are using, and gives important information to your browser so it can render your page faster and more consistently.

The doctype declaration also allows validating software to check the syntax of your page:

### HTML 4.01 Strict, Transitional, Frameset

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

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

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

### XHTML 1.0 Strict, Transitional, Frameset

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

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

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

### XHTML 1.1 DTD

    <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">

Read more about DTD, Doctype and Page Validation at W3Schools.

## The <title> Element

The <title> element is one of the most important HTML elements. Its main function is to describe the content of a web page.

Even if the title is not a visible part of your web page, it is important to the quality of your web site because it will be visible in

- search engine lists
- the windows title bar
- users bookmarks

The title should be as short and descriptive as possible.

When a user searches the internet for web sites, most search engines will display the title of your web site in the search result. Make sure the title match the content the user is looking for. Then it is more likely he will click on the link to visit your web site.

When the user is visiting your website, the title will be visible in the windows title bar. Make sure the title describes your site even when the window is minimized.

After the user has visited your website, the title of your web pages will be stored in his history folder (or even in his favorites folder). Make sure the title clearly describes your pages for a future visit.

Good title examples:

<title>HTML Tutorial</title>

<title>Introduction to XML</title>

Bad title examples:

<title>Introduction</title>

<title>Chapter 1</title>

<title>W3Schools has a collection of award winning, well organized, and easy to understand HTML, CSS, JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, WAP, ASP, SQL tutorials with lots of working examples and source code. </title>

## The <h1> Element

The <h1> element is used to describe the top level header of a web page.

Because some web browsers display the <h1> element in a very large font by default, some web developers will use the <h2> element instead of the <h1> element for top level headers. This will not confuse the reader, if he is a person, but it will confuse most search engines and other software that will try to "understand" the structure of the web page.

Make sure you use <h1> for top level headers, <h2> and <h3> for lower levels.

Try to structure your web page headers after this template:

# This is the main header

Some initial text

## This is a level 2 header

Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences.

### This is a level 3 header

Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences.

### This is a level 3 header

Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences. Paragraph and sentences.

If you don't like the default size for headers, use styles or a style sheet to change it.

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