A document type declaration, or DOCTYPE, is an instruction that associates a particular XML or SGML document with a document type definition. In the serialized form of the document, it manifests as a short string of markup that conforms to a particular syntax.

What is the meaning of <! Doctype?

Doctype stands for Document Type Declaration. It informs the web browser about the type and version of HTML used in building the web document. This helps the browser to handle and load it properly. While the HTML syntax for this statement is somewhat simple, you must note each version of HTML has its own rules.

What is DOCTYPE used for?

The HTML document type declaration, also known as DOCTYPE , is the first line of code required in every HTML or XHTML document. The DOCTYPE declaration is an instruction to the web browser about what version of HTML the page is written in. This ensures that the web page is parsed the same way by different web browsers.