HTML Comments: Documenting and Improving Code Readability

Learn how to use HTML comments effectively to improve the readability and maintainability of your code. This tutorial explains the syntax of HTML comments, demonstrates their use for documentation and debugging, and highlights best practices for creating well-commented and understandable HTML.



Using HTML Comments

What are HTML Comments?

HTML comments are notes within your HTML code that are ignored by web browsers. They're not displayed on the rendered page but are very useful for documenting your code, making it easier to understand and maintain. They're also helpful during development for debugging.

HTML Comment Syntax

HTML comments are written using the following syntax:

HTML Comment

<!-- This is a comment -->

Note the "<!--" at the start and "-->" at the end. Everything between these tags is treated as a comment.

Using Comments for Documentation

Comments are a great way to add notes to your HTML code to explain what different sections do, who wrote them, or when they were last modified. This makes your code much easier for others (or your future self!) to understand.

Example:

HTML

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<!-- Added this paragraph on October 26, 2023 -->

Using Comments to Temporarily Hide Content

Comments can be used to temporarily remove sections of HTML from the rendered page without actually deleting the code. This is very useful during development or debugging.

Example:

HTML

<p>This is visible.</p>
<!--<p>This is hidden.</p> -->

Debugging with Comments

Commenting out sections of code (by placing them within <!-- -->) is a standard debugging technique. By commenting out parts of your code one at a time, you can isolate the source of errors more easily.