// Tutorial //

How To Set Doctype in HTML5

Published on August 19, 2016 · Updated on September 24, 2020
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    By Alligator.io

    How To Set Doctype in HTML5

    Introduction

    The <!DOCTYPE html> tag is a required preamble for HTML documents. Here’s how you use it.

    Prerequisites

    Setting doctype in HTML5

    To set the doctype in HTML5, add this to the top of your html code:

    index.html
    <!DOCTYPE html>
    

    Setting the doctype remains important for the support of legacy browsers.

    Conclusion

    Setting the doctype on your code is important, but it’s only the first step. For a more comprehensive review of the HTML5 markup language, explore our series, How To Build a Website in HTML.

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    About the authors
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