Having to know numerous languages isn’t anything new to website developers so it’s no wonder that bits of code get forgotten about or just plain over looked. I recently came across a handful of pretty useful tags that I wanted to share.

#1 <acronym>

The <acronym> tag is fantastic if you want to define an acronym displayed on your website but don’t want to have it displayed in the content. Simply wrap your acronym in this tag and when hovered over it will display the definition (provided you fill it in).

<acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym> is essential for building a "findable" website.

Demo
SEO is essential for building a “findable” website.

#2 <abbr>

On a related note, <abbr> is great for displaying the definition of abbreviations that you may be using in the content of your site.

<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Robb Clarke

Demo
Mr. Robb Clarke

#3 <wbr>

Ever had a long word hyphenated in a really awkward spot when you view your content? The <wbr> tag solves that problem by allowing you to dictate where the line break, if needed, will happen in that word.

antidisestablishmentarianism

Demo
antidisestablishmentarianism

#4 <ins> and <del>

If you ever need to display editing corrections in your content, the <ins> and <del> are the perfect solution for that. The <ins> tag underlines the word(s) that you wish to insert into the text whereas the <del> strikes through the word(s) that you have deleted/changes. Just wrap the word(s) that you want to add/remove in the appropriate tags.

District 9 was a <del>horrible</del> <ins>great</ins> movie.

Demo
District 9 was a horrible great movie.

None of these tags are going to change the way that you code sites or revolutionize the world of website design but they’re neat little tricks to add and display more information on your website.

Were these useful? Let me know.