13. Embedding Images (<img>)

Images are embedded using the self-closing <img> tag. It requires two mandatory attributes.

13.1 Mandatory Attributes

1. src (Source): Specifies the path (absolute or relative) to the image file.
2. alt (Alternate Text): Provides a text description of the image. This is vital for accessibility (screen readers) and SEO, and appears if the image fails to load.

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13.2 Defining Size

While you will primarily use CSS to control image size, you can set the default dimensions using the width and height attributes (in pixels, without the px unit).

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Best Practice: Always define the width and height for performance reasons. This allows the browser to reserve the space before the image is loaded, preventing layout shifts.