HTML 4 body Tag

Also see HTML5 <body> Tag.

This page is for the HTML 4 version of this element. For a more up to date version, see HTML5 <body> Tag.


The HTML body tag is used for indicating the main content section of the HTML document. The body tag is placed between the </head> and the </html> tags.

Note that the attributes for the body tag are deprecated in HTML 4.01 and obsolete in HTML 5. You should use CSS for defining the presentation of your document body. For example, see CSS background-color and CSS text-decoration.

Example

Attributes

Attributes specific to this tag:
AttributeDescription
backgroundSpecifies the URI/URL of a background image. This attribute is now deprecated.
textSpecifies the text color. This attribute is now deprecated.
linkSpecifies the color of unvisited hyperlink text. This attribute is now deprecated.
vlinkSpecifies the color of visited hyperlink text. This attribute is now deprecated.
alinkSpecifies the color of active hyperlink text (i.e. when the user clicks on it). This attribute is now deprecated.
Other Attributes:
AttributeDescription
classDocument wide identifier.
idDocument wide identifier
langLanguage code
dirSpecifies the direction of the text
titleSpecifies a title to associate with the element. Many browsers will display this when the cursor hovers over the element (similar to a "tool tip").
styleInline style (CSS)
bgcolorBackground color. This attribute is now deprecated.
onloadIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onunloadIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onclickIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
ondbclickIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmousedownIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmouseupIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmouseoverIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmousemoveIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmouseoutIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onkeypressIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onkeydownIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onkeyupIntrinsic event (see event handlers)

Try it Yourself!

Modify the code below, then click Update. See below for attributes.

HTML5 Tags

The information on this page is based on HTML version 4.01. Most modern browsers now support HTML5.

See HTML5 <body> Tag for the HTML5 version of the above element.

See this list of HTML tags for the latest list of HTML elements.