HTML <thead> Tag
Example
An HTML table with a <thead>, <tbody>, and a <tfoot> element:
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Savings</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>$100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>$80</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td>Sum</td>
<td>$180</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
</table>
Try it Yourself »
More "Try it Yourself" examples below.
Definition and Usage
The <thead> tag is used to group header content in an HTML table.
The <thead> element is used in conjunction with the <tbody> and <tfoot> elements to specify each part of a table (header, body, footer).
Browsers can use these elements to enable scrolling of the table body independently of the header and footer. Also, when printing a large table that spans multiple pages, these elements can enable the table header and footer to be printed at the top and bottom of each page.
Note: The <thead> element must have one or more <tr> tags inside.
The <thead> tag must be used in the following context: As a child of a <table> element, after any <caption> and <colgroup> elements, and before any <tbody>, <tfoot>, and <tr> elements.
Tip: The <thead>, <tbody>, and <tfoot> elements will not affect the layout of the table by default. However, you can use CSS to style these elements (see example below)!
Browser Support
| Element | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <thead> | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Global Attributes
The <thead> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.
Event Attributes
The <thead> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.
More Examples
Example
Style <thead>, <tbody>, and <tfoot> with CSS:
<html>
<head>
<style>
thead {color: green;}
tbody {color: blue;}
tfoot {color: red;}
table, th, td {
border: 1px solid black;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Savings</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>$100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>$80</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td>Sum</td>
<td>$180</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
</table>
Try it Yourself »
Example
How to align content inside <thead> (with CSS):
<table style="width:100%">
<thead style="text-align:left">
<tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Savings</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>$100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>$80</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Try it Yourself »
Example
How to vertically align content inside <thead> (with CSS):
<table style="width:50%;">
<thead style="vertical-align:bottom">
<tr style="height:100px">
<th>Month</th>
<th>Savings</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>$100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>$80</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Try it Yourself »
Default CSS Settings
Most browsers will display the <thead> element with the following default values:
thead {
display: table-header-group;
vertical-align: middle;
border-color: inherit;
}
