In HTML, what is a Title Tag?

The title tag is a tag in hypertext markup language (HTML) that is used to identify the title of a webpage. When a title is written within the title tag, it is displayed on the web browser’s reverse bar — that is, the bar located at the very top of the browser. The tag is used in virtually every webpage and can be utilized for various purposes. For one, it is one of the resources that search engines use to find a webpage. In addition, the title tag can also provide a short description of the webpage.

The writer of a website can title a page by putting the appropriate text between the title tags. For example, this format — <title> Test Me </title> — would be used if the writer wanted the title of a web page to be "Test Me." The title tag is usually placed within the head element of an HTML document. The head element is commonly placed right before the body of the webpage. This tag holds information about the web page, much of which is not displayed to the user.

Search engines often use the title tag as a way to find web pages when a user types and searches for certain keywords. A catchy and effective title can thus be a major asset to people trying to drive traffic to their site. Commonly, the search engine converts the title into a link that connects directly to the web page it is referring to. For example, let us say that there is a website called testpage.com with the title, "Test your pages here." When the search engine brings this page up as a result, the link to the page will be "Test your pages here."

Another place the title tag is commonly used is on a user's favorite or bookmark list. In these instances, the title is used to differentiate web pages on the list. Every time a web page is added to the list, the user has the option to use the title or to provide one of his own — which is useful when two pages have the same title. Next to the titles is often a 16 x 16 pixel icon, called a favicon. The favicon, along with the title, can work together to help a user remember the content of a web page he has added to his list.