Introduction
The <!DOCTYPE html> tag is a required preamble for HTML documents. Here’s how you use it.
Prerequisites
- A general knowledge of HTML5. For a comprehensive review of the HTML5 markup language, explore our series, How To Build a Website in HTML.
Setting doctype in HTML5
To set the doctype in HTML5, add this to the top of your html code:
<!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.
Thanks for learning with the DigitalOcean Community. Check out our offerings for compute, storage, networking, and managed databases.
About the author(s)
This textbox defaults to using Markdown to format your answer.
You can type !ref in this text area to quickly search our full set of tutorials, documentation & marketplace offerings and insert the link!
Become a contributor for community
Get paid to write technical tutorials and select a tech-focused charity to receive a matching donation.
DigitalOcean Documentation
Full documentation for every DigitalOcean product.
Resources for startups and SMBs
The Wave has everything you need to know about building a business, from raising funding to marketing your product.
The developer cloud
Scale up as you grow — whether you're running one virtual machine or ten thousand.
Get started for free
Sign up and get $200 in credit for your first 60 days with DigitalOcean.*
*This promotional offer applies to new accounts only.