HTML Tables

Defining an HTML Table

An HTML table is defined with the <table> tag.

Each table row is defined with the <tr> tag. A table header is defined with the <th> tag. By default, table headings are bold and centered. A table data/cell is defined with the <td> tag.

<table style="width:100%">
    <tr>
        <th>Firstname</th>
        <th>Lastname</th> 
        <th>Age</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Jill</td>
        <td>Smith</td> 
        <td>50</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Eve</td>
        <td>Jackson</td> 
        <td>94</td>
    </tr>
</table>

Note: The <td> elements are the data containers of the table.

They can contain all sorts of HTML elements; text, images, lists, other tables, etc.

HTML Table - Adding a Border

If you do not specify a border for the table, it will be displayed without borders.

A border is set using the CSS border property:

table, th, td {
    border: 1px solid black;
}

HTML Table - Adding Cell Padding

Cell padding specifies the space between the cell content and its borders.

If you do not specify a padding, the table cells will be displayed without padding.

To set the padding, use the CSS padding property:

th, td {
    padding: 15px;
}

HTML Table - Left-align Headings

By default, table headings are bold and centered.

To left-align the table headings, use the CSS text-align property:

th {
    text-align: left;
}

HTML Table - Adding Border Spacing

Border spacing specifies the space between the cells.

To set the border spacing for a table, use the CSS border-spacing property:

table {
    border-spacing: 5px;
}

Note: If the table has collapsed borders, border-spacing has no effect.

HTML Table - Cells that Span Many Columns

To make a cell span more than one column, use the colspan attribute:

<table style="width:100%">
    <tr>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th colspan="2">Telephone</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Bill Gates</td>
        <td>55577854</td>
        <td>55577855</td>
    </tr>
</table>

HTML Table - Cells that Span Many Rows

To make a cell span more than one row, use the rowspan attribute:

<table style="width:100%">
    <tr>
        <th>Name:</th>
        <td>Bill Gates</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <th rowspan="2">Telephone:</th>
        <td>55577854</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>55577855</td>
    </tr>
</table>

HTML Table - Adding a Caption

To add a caption to a table, use the <caption> tag:

Note: The <caption> tag must be inserted immediately after the <table> tag.

<table style="width:100%">
    <caption>Monthly savings</caption>
    <tr>
        <th>Month</th>
        <th>Savings</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>January</td>
        <td>$100</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>February</td>
        <td>$50</td>
    </tr>
</table>

Note: The <caption> tag must be inserted immediately after the <table> tag.

Chapter Summary

  • Use the HTML <table> element to define a table
  • Use the HTML <tr> element to define a table row
  • Use the HTML <td> element to define a table data
  • Use the HTML <th> element to define a table heading
  • Use the HTML <caption> element to define a table caption
  • Use the CSS border property to define a border
  • Use the CSS border-collapse property to collapse cell borders
  • Use the CSS padding property to add padding to cells
  • Use the CSS text-align property to align cell text
  • Use the CSS border-spacing property to set the spacing between cells
  • Use the colspan attribute to make a cell span many columns
  • Use the rowspan attribute to make a cell span many rows
  • Use the id attribute to uniquely define one table

HTML Table Tags

Tag Description
<table> Defines a table
<th> Defines a header cell in a table
<tr> Defines a row in a table
<td> Defines a cell in a table
<caption> Defines a table caption
<colgroup> Specifies a group of one or more columns in a table for formatting
<col> Specifies column properties for each column within a <colgroup> element
<thead> Groups the header content in a table
<tbody> Groups the body content in a table
<tfoot> Groups the footer content in a table
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