HTML Lists

HTML lists allow web developers to group a set of related items in lists.

Example

An unordered HTML list:

Item
Item
Item
Item

An ordered HTML list:

First item
Second item
Third item
Fourth item

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Unordered HTML List

An unordered list starts with the <ul> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

The list items will be marked with bullets (small black circles) by default:

Example

<ul>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Ordered HTML List

An ordered list starts with the <ol> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

The list items will be marked with numbers by default:

Example

<ol>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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HTML Description Lists

HTML also supports description lists.

A description list is a list of terms, with a description of each term.

The <dl> tag defines the description list, the <dt> tag defines the term (name), and the <dd> tag describes each term:

Example

<dl>
<dt>Coffee</dt>
<dd>- black hot drink</dd>
<dt>Milk</dt>
<dd>- white cold drink</dd>
</dl>

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HTML List Tags

Tag	Description
<ul>	Defines an unordered list
<ol>	Defines an ordered list
<li>	Defines a list item
<dl>	Defines a description list
<dt>	Defines a term in a description list
<dd>	Describes the term in a description list

For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.

HTML Unordered Lists

The HTML <ul> tag defines an unordered (bulleted) list.

Unordered HTML List

An unordered list starts with the <ul> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

The list items will be marked with bullets (small black circles) by default:

Example

<ul>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Unordered HTML List – Choose List Item Marker

The CSS list-style-type property is used to define the style of the list item marker. It can have one of the following values:

Value	Description
disc	Sets the list item marker to a bullet (default)
circle	Sets the list item marker to a circle
square	Sets the list item marker to a square
none	The list items will not be marked

Example – Disc

<ul style=”list-style-type:disc;”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Example – Circle

<ul style=”list-style-type:circle;”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Example – Square

<ul style=”list-style-type:square;”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Example – None

<ul style=”list-style-type:none;”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Nested HTML Lists

Lists can be nested (list inside list):

Example

<ul>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea
<ul>
<li>Black tea</li>
<li>Green tea</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

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Note: A list item (<li>) can contain a new list, and other HTML elements, like images and links, etc.

Horizontal List with CSS

HTML lists can be styled in many different ways with CSS.

One popular way is to style a list horizontally, to create a navigation menu:

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
  overflow: hidden;
  background-color: #333333;
}

li {
  float: left;
}

li a {
  display: block;
  color: white;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 16px;
text-decoration: none;
}

li a:hover {
  background-color: #111111;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<ul>
<li><a href=”#home”>Home</a></li>
<li><a href=”#news”>News</a></li>
<li><a href=”#contact”>Contact</a></li>
<li><a href=”#about”>About</a></li>
</ul>

</body>
</html>

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Tip: You can learn much more about CSS in our CSS Tutorial.

Chapter Summary

Use the HTML <ul> element to define an unordered list
Use the CSS list-style-type property to define the list item marker
Use the HTML <li> element to define a list item
Lists can be nested
List items can contain other HTML elements
Use the CSS property float:left to display a list horizontally

HTML List Tags

Tag	Description
<ul>	Defines an unordered list
<ol>	Defines an ordered list
<li>	Defines a list item
<dl>	Defines a description list
<dt>	Defines a term in a description list
<dd>	Describes the term in a description list

For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.

HTML Ordered Lists

The HTML <ol> tag defines an ordered list. An ordered list can be numerical or alphabetical.

Ordered HTML List

An ordered list starts with the <ol> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

The list items will be marked with numbers by default:

Example

<ol>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Ordered HTML List – The Type Attribute

The type attribute of the <ol> tag, defines the type of the list item marker:

Type	Description
type=”1″	The list items will be numbered with numbers (default)
type=”A”	The list items will be numbered with uppercase letters
type=”a”	The list items will be numbered with lowercase letters
type=”I”	The list items will be numbered with uppercase roman numbers
type=”i”	The list items will be numbered with lowercase roman numbers

Numbers:

<ol type=”1″>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Uppercase Letters:

<ol type=”A”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Lowercase Letters:

<ol type=”a”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Uppercase Roman Numbers:

<ol type=”I”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Lowercase Roman Numbers:

<ol type=”i”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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The HTML <ol> tag defines an ordered list. An ordered list can be numerical or alphabetical.

Ordered HTML List

An ordered list starts with the <ol> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

The list items will be marked with numbers by default:

Example

<ol>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

Try it Yourself »

Ordered HTML List – The Type Attribute

The type attribute of the <ol> tag, defines the type of the list item marker:

Type	Description
type=”1″	The list items will be numbered with numbers (default)
type=”A”	The list items will be numbered with uppercase letters
type=”a”	The list items will be numbered with lowercase letters
type=”I”	The list items will be numbered with uppercase roman numbers
type=”i”	The list items will be numbered with lowercase roman numbers

Numbers:

<ol type=”1″>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

Try it Yourself »

Uppercase Letters:

<ol type=”A”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Lowercase Letters:

<ol type=”a”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Uppercase Roman Numbers:

<ol type=”I”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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Lowercase Roman Numbers:

<ol type=”i”>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

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HTML Other Lists

HTML also supports description lists.

HTML Description Lists

A description list is a list of terms, with a description of each term.

The <dl> tag defines the description list, the <dt> tag defines the term (name), and the <dd> tag describes each term:

Example

<dl>
<dt>Coffee</dt>
<dd>- black hot drink</dd>
<dt>Milk</dt>
<dd>- white cold drink</dd>
</dl>

Try it Yourself »

Chapter Summary

Use the HTML <dl> element to define a description list
Use the HTML <dt> element to define the description term
Use the HTML <dd> element to describe the term in a description list

HTML List Tags

Tag	Description
<ul>	Defines an unordered list
<ol>	Defines an ordered list
<li>	Defines a list item
<dl>	Defines a description list
<dt>	Defines a term in a description list
<dd>	Describes the term in a description list

For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.

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