The HTML tag serves as the foundational element of every web page, encompassing all other HTML elements except for the <!DOCTYPE html> tag. It acts as the encompassing container, providing structure and organization to the content. All other elements must be descendants of this element.

It is recommended to include the “lang” attribute within the `<html>` tag to declare the language of the web page. This serves to aid search engines and browsers in better understanding the content and also aids speech synthesis tools to determine what pronunciations to use, translation tools to determine what rules to use, and so forth.
An example of how the HTML tag is used looks like this: 


            <!DOCTYPE html>
            <html lang="en">
            	<head>
            		<title>Title of the document</title>
            	</head>
            	<body>
            
            		<h1>This is a heading</h1>
            		<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
            
            	</body>
            </html>

The tags above define a basic web page structure, with the `<head>` tag containing meta-information about the page, and the `<body>` tag containing the main content.

The HTML tag is just one of many HTML elements available in HTML5, and it’s an essential part of a web page’s structure. Understanding how to use the HTML tag correctly will ensure that your page is interpreted properly by the browser, and help you create more dynamic and engaging websites.

Happy coding!

Tags: HTML Web Development