The <template> HTML is an HTML element that is executed to hold the HTML, which is not to load instantly along with a page. But the HTML templates can be incorporated later with JavaScript during the runtime of the page. HTML templates can be considered as a part of the content that is stored for use later in the content page. It only loads the content of the templates to make sure that the contents are not invalid. However, the contents of the HTML elements are not loaded. This post talks about HTML templates, what it is and whether or not you should be using them.
What are HTML Templates?
Templates or website templates are pre-defined and formed of HTML pages that are combined with texts, content, images, fonts, javascript, file support, etc. The end users upload their information, texts, and images into the predefined design of the template and then upload that template to the website hosting account to allow the Internet to view the HTML. Templates are generally stand-alone and self-contained, and the websites using the templates download them in the zip file format. When the template comes in a zip file format, it helps the buyer to use all the templates freely and apply them on the website they are building because a template comes with codes, stock photos, and files that are composed together for ease of use. HTML website templates are generally built using HTML or XHTML and come with CSS or JavaScript code. There are other kinds of templates as well, such as PHP and ASP, that also sometimes contain HTML or XHTML code. The current updated version of the HTML template is HTML5, and its previous version was HTML 4.01, but many websites are still using the previous version. HTML5 is supported by all the web browsers and mobile devices, including the new ones, and is widely used by various small and large websites. To understand HTML templates better, you should know some things about HTML as well.
What is HTML?
Basically, HTML allows a simple text file to show texts, images, scripts, animations, and other website elements in a formatted manner on a webpage. HTML is a language that is mostly used by web browsers to configure and display web pages synchronously. However, like HTML, CSS is also a language that websites combine with HTML and create colors, layout styles, and font styles for the web pages. The full name of HTML is HyperText Markup Language which comes with a series of codes that you can insert into a text file that will help you specify the type of the file, as well as you can insert images and the links to other documents. With HTML, you can embed the images and other website elements and create great HTML forms. Developers embed website elements with JavaScript and HTML tags such as “object”, ”embed’, etc. Since HTML is not a program of many features combined, it allows the creation of a combination of texts and files that are easier to read and help you make HTML website templates.
What is the HTML Template Tag?
There is a template tag in HTML that enables you to build a series of HTML elements that are not loaded to the webpage. This is like a div with display none that has HTML inside, but the HTML template tag has some functions that help you load the webpage faster than the div with display none. When you are using an HTML template tag, you can be sure that the HTML inside of the tag is created in JavaScript and can load dynamic content on your web page. Moreover, the HTML template tag comes with some techniques that allow you to copy the content inside and add it to the DOM constantly. So the developers use the HTML template tag to create a list of files and texts that you can dynamically add to the web page. For reference, look at the example below:
<ul>
<li>
<span>Item 1: </span>
<span>Content 1</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Item 2: </span>
<span>Content 2</span>
</li>
</ul>
If you want to add a new component to the list, then the HTML for the li tag will have to be written in JavaScript code, and JavaScript codes can trigger errors and are also not that easy to organize. But if you add an HTML template tag past HTML, then you can transfer all the HTML out of JavaScript. Look at the codes below to understand what we are saying:
<ul>
<li>
<span>Item 1: </span>
<span>Content 1</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Item 2: </span>
<span>Content 2</span>
</li>
</ul>
<template>
<li>
<span>Item: </span>
<span>Content</span>
</li>
</template>
The li template is specified in HTML, but in Javascript, you can drag the content of the template and copy and paste it to the original list.
How to Apply Template Tag in JavaScript?
To select the JavaScript elements, you will have to add ids/classes to the HTML, and you can also add a new button that will help you include new content or items to the file:
<ul id=”list”>
<li>
<span>Item 1: </span>
<span>Content 1</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Item 2: </span>
<span>Content 2</span>
</li>
</ul>
<button id=”add-item”>Add Item</button>
<template id=”list-item-template”>
<li>
<span class=”title”>Item: </span>
<span class=”content”>Content</span>
</li>
</template>
And now you can go back to JavaScript:
const template = document.getElementById(‘list-item-template’)
const list = document.getElementById(‘list’)
const button = document.getElementById(‘add-item’)
let itemCount = list.children.length
button.addEventListener(‘click’, () => {
const item = template.content.cloneNode(true)
itemCount++
item.querySelector(‘.title’).innerText = `Item ${itemCount}: `
item.querySelector(‘.content’).innerText = `Content ${itemCount}`
list.append(item)
})
There are some references to the HTML template, button, list, and the number of components on the list in JavaScript. And we have added a new button that the users can click to add new objects, and then you will have to type in another line of code that will help you implement the whole HTML template onto your website:
const item = template.content.cloneNode(true)
The content of the template is tagged as li, and in the code above, we have cloned that content. For that, we have driven the true tag to cloneNode. We have also shown you that we have cloned the small components within li, and we have changed the title and the content of the javascript with the content of our choice prior to including the component at the bottom of the list. When there is no HTML code in JavaScript, it makes it easier to organize the JavaScript, and it will also reduce the possibility of recurring bugs that can use the innerHTML or type unnecessary codes within the HTML.
Attributes
HTML elements use global attributes, but there is the HTMLtemplateelement with a content property. It is in the read-only format and is a DocumentFragment that has a DOM subentry that the HTML template symbolizes. But if you use the value of content directly, it can lead your HTML template to misbehave.
Conclusion
Front-end frameworks are popular, but not every website is built with front-end frameworks. And when you are using the HTML templates, then you can easily create dynamic JavaScript. However, websites with HTML do not embed just any kind of image because the images need to load instantly on the website; otherwise, it would compromise usability. HTML uses image types like JPEG or JPG, GIF, PNG, and other types of website elements that you can insert inside of the HTML template tag.