Example
<img src="pulpitrock.jpg" alt="Mountain View">
Example
<img src="img_girl.jpg" alt="Girl in a jacket">
Example
<img src="img_chania.jpg" alt="Flowers in Chania">
HTML Images Syntax
In HTML, images are defined with the <img> tag.
The <img> tag is empty, it contains attributes only, and does not have a closing tag.
The src attribute specifies the URL (web address) of the image:
<img src="url">
The alt Attribute
The alt attribute provides an alternate text for an image, if the user for some reason cannot view it (because of slow connection, an error in the src attribute, or if the user uses a screen reader).
The value of the alt attribute should describe the image:
Example
<img src="img_chania.jpg" alt="Flowers in Chania">
If a browser cannot find an image, it will display the value of the alt attribute:
Example
<img src="wrongname.gif" alt="Flowers in Chania">
Note: The alt attribute is required. A web page will not validate correctly without it.
Image Size - Width and Height
You can use the style attribute to specify the width and height of an image.
Example
<img src="img_girl.jpg" alt="Girl in a jacket" style="width:500px;height:600px;">
Alternatively, you can use the width and height attributes:
Example
<img src="img_girl.jpg" alt="Girl in a jacket" width="500" height="600">
The width and height attributes always defines the width and height of the image in pixels.
Note: Always specify the width and height of an image. If width and height are not specified, the page might flicker while the image loads.
Width and Height, or Style?
Both the width, height, and style attributes are valid in HTML5.
However, we suggest using the style attribute. It prevents styles sheets from changing the size of images:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
img {
width:100%; }</style>
</head>
<body>
<img src="html5.gif" alt="HTML5 Icon" width="128" height="128">
<img src="html5.gif" alt="HTML5 Icon" style="width:128px;height:128px;">
</body>
</html>
Images in Another Folder
If not specified, the browser expects to find the image in the same folder as the web page.
However, it is common to store images in a sub-folder. You must then include the folder name in the src attribute:
Example
<img src="/images/html5.gif" alt="HTML5 Icon" style="width:128px;height:128px;">
Images on Another Server
Some web sites store their images on image servers.
Actually, you can access images from any web address in the world:
Example
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/images/w3schools_green.jpg" alt="W3Schools.com">
You can read more about file paths in the chapter HTML File Paths.
Animated Images
HTML allows animated GIFs:
Example
<img src="programming.gif" alt="Computer Man" style="width:48px;height:48px;">
Image as a Link
To use an image as a link, put the <img> tag inside the <a> tag:
Example
<a href="default.asp">
<img src="smiley.gif" alt="HTML tutorial" style="width:42px;height:42px;border:0;">
</a>
Note: border:0; is added to prevent IE9 (and earlier) from displaying a border around the image (when the image is a link).
Image Floating
Use the CSS float property to let the image float to the right or to the left of a text:
Example
<p><img src="smiley.gif" alt="Smiley face" style="float:right;width:42px;height:42px;">
The image will float to the right of the text.</p>
<p><img src="smiley.gif" alt="Smiley face" style="float:left;width:42px;height:42px;">
The image will float to the left of the text.</p>
Example
<img src="workplace.jpg" alt="Workplace" usemap="#workmap">
<map name="workmap">
<area shape="rect" coords="34,44,270,350" alt="Computer" href="computer.htm">
<area shape="rect" coords="290,172,333,250" alt="Phone" href="phone.htm">
<area shape="circle" coords="337,300,44" alt="Coffee" href="coffee.htm">
</map>
The name attribute of the <map> tag is associated with the <img>'s usemap attribute and creates a relationship between the image and the map.
The <map> tag contains a number of <area> tags, that defines the clickable areas in the image-map.
Background Image
To add a background image on an HTML element, use the CSS property
background-image:Example
To add a background image on a web page, specify the background-image property on the BODY element:
<body style="background-image:url('clouds.jpg')">
<h2>Background Image</h2>
</body>
Example
To add a background image on a paragraph, specify the background-image property on the P element:
<body>
<p style="background-image:url('clouds.jpg')">
...
</p>
</body>
The <picture> Element
HTML5 introduced the <picture> element to add more flexibility when specifying image resources.
The <picture> element contains a number of <source> elements, each referring to different image sources. This way the browser can choose the image that best fit the current view and/or device.
Each <source> element have attributes describing when their image is the most suitable.
The browser will use the first <source> element with matching attribute values, and ignore any following <source> elements.
Example
Show one picture if the browser window (viewport) is a minimum of 650 pixels, and another image if not, but larger than 465 pixels.
<picture>
<source media="(min-width: 650px)" srcset="img_pink_flowers.jpg">
<source media="(min-width: 465px)" srcset="img_white_flower.jpg">
<img src="img_orange_flowers.jpg" alt="Flowers" style="width:auto;">
</picture>
