Forms & Media

Forms are one of the most important interactive components of the web, allowing users to submit data, from a simple search query to a complex registration profile. Mastering HTML forms involves understanding a variety of input types beyond just `text` and `password`. HTML5 introduced many new types like `email`, `tel`, `url`, `date`, and `number`, which provide better user experiences, especially on mobile devices where specialized keyboards can be shown. The `<label>` tag is crucial for accessibility, as it programmatically links text to a form control. We'll also cover form validation, using attributes like `required`, `minlength`, `maxlength`, and `pattern` to ensure data is in the correct format before it's even sent to the server. For multimedia, HTML5 provides the `<audio>` and `<video>` tags, making it easy to embed media directly into your web pages without relying on third-party plugins like Flash. You'll learn how to use these tags effectively, adding attributes like `controls` to show the browser's default play/pause interface, `autoplay` to start media automatically (use with caution!), `loop` to repeat playback, and `muted` to start with the sound off. We'll also cover providing fallback content for older browsers and using the `<source>` element to offer different media formats, ensuring your content is accessible to the widest possible audience.