HTML Tables

Toggle navigation
TUTORIAL HOME
HTML Tables
❮ Previous Next ❯
HTML Table Example
Company Contact Country
Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Germany
Centro comercial Moctezuma Francisco Chang Mexico
Ernst Handel Roland Mendel Austria
Island Trading Helen Bennett UK
Laughing Bacchus Winecellars Yoshi Tannamuri Canada
Magazzini Alimentari Riuniti Giovanni Rovelli Italy
»
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.

Example
<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:

Example
table, th, td {
    border: 1px solid black;
}
»
Remember to define borders for both the table and the table cells.

HTML Table - Collapsed Borders
If you want the borders to collapse into one border, add the CSS border-collapse property:

Example
table, th, td {
    border: 1px solid black;
    border-collapse: collapse;
}
»
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:

Example
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:

Example
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:

Example
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:

Example
<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:

Example
<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:

Example
<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.

A Special Style for One Table
To define a special style for a special table, add an id attribute to the table:

Example
<table id="t01">
  <tr>
    <th>Firstname</th>
    <th>Lastname</th>
    <th>Age</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Eve</td>
    <td>Jackson</td>
    <td>94</td>
  </tr>
</table>
Now you can define a special style for this table:
table#t01 {
    width: 100%;
    background-color: #f1f1c1;
}
»
And add more styles:
table#t01 tr:nth-child(even) {
    background-color: #eee;
}
table#t01 tr:nth-child(odd) {
    background-color: #fff;
}
table#t01 th {
    color: white;
    background-color: black;
}
»
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
Test Yourself with Exercises!
Exercise 1 »  Exercise 2 »  Exercise 3 »  Exercise 4 »  Exercise 5 »  Exercise 6 »

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

❮ Previous Next ❯