What Is an HTML Textbox?

Within the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) used to create code for Internet websites, it is fairly simple to create an HTML textbox. This can refer to two different types of objects made on a webpage, although it is typically a box in which a user can enter text on a site. Such a box might be part of a user feedback system, in which visitors to a site can type comments into, and then submit it to the host. An HTML textbox can also be an object on a webpage used to display text, created by the website developer, which is not designed to be interactive.

The purpose of an HTML textbox can vary, depending on the way it is designed and coded into a website's structure. One of the most common types of textbox is an object on a website that provides a form into which data can be entered. The creation of this HTML textbox is quite simple; it requires only a few lines of code to indicate the format of the box and any additional information presented with it. For example, a very small area can be designated as an entry field for someone's first name, and code creates not only the field but a label instructing someone to input a name.

A more complicated HTML textbox can be created by indicating additional information in the website's code. For example, a large form can be created to give visitors to a webpage a field in which they can enter feedback or comments on the site. The code for this area can indicate the size of the field, and the default number of lines provided within it. This type of HTML textbox can also include a "submit" button that sends the data entered into the field to another page for further use.

Standard content on a website can also take the form of an HTML textbox, usually as a non-interactive object. The webpage designer of a site, for example, might choose to present information to visitors in a box that is divided from the rest of the page. This can be created as an HTML textbox with a small border and a title or header at the top of it. Additional information can then be typed into the source code for the field and is displayed within the box on the live page. This is often used for sectioning off certain data on a page or to indicate a short blurb on a site.