HTML Abbreviations Cheat Sheet

Updated March 12, 2025

Here is my custom list of abbreviations for commonly used terms, as written via HTML’s <abbr> tag. I’m posting this to make it available to anyone who finds it useful. Very handy when writing tutorials related to WordPress, web design and development. A quick copy/paste is much quicker than typing it all out. Without further ado, here is my “cheat sheet” of HTML abbreviations.

<abbr title=""></abbr> <!-- blank -->

<abbr title="Two Factor Authentication">2FA</abbr>
<abbr title="Artificial Intelligence">AI</abbr>
<abbr title="Application Programming Interface">API</abbr>
<abbr title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</abbr>
<abbr title="CHange MODe">CHMOD</abbr>
<abbr title="Classless Inter-Domain Routing">CIDR</abbr>
<abbr title="Comma-Separated Values">CSV</abbr>
<abbr title="Content Management System">CMS</abbr>
<abbr title="Domain Name System">DNS</abbr>
<abbr title="Don't Repeat Yourself">DRY</abbr>
<abbr title="File Transfer Protocol">FTP</abbr>
<abbr title="Google Analytics">GA</abbr>
<abbr title="General Public License">GPL</abbr>
<abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>
<abbr title="GNU Zipped Archive File">GZ</abbr>
<abbr title="GNU Zipped Archive File">GZIP</abbr>
<abbr title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</abbr>
<abbr title="Hypertext Transfer Protocol">HTTP</abbr>
<abbr title="Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure">HTTPS</abbr>
<abbr title="Internet Explorer">IE</abbr>
<abbr title="Internet Protocol">IP</abbr>
<abbr title="Internet Service Provider">ISP</abbr>
<abbr title="JavaScript Object Notation">JSON</abbr>
<abbr title="Machine Learning">ML</abbr>
<abbr title="(Apple) Macintosh Operating System">macOS</abbr>
<abbr title="Outline Processor Markup Language">OPML</abbr>
<abbr title="Personal Computer">PC</abbr>
<abbr title="Portable Document Format">PDF</abbr>
<abbr title="PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor">PHP</abbr>
<abbr title="Roshal ARchive (file format)">RAR</abbr>
<abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr>
<abbr title="Representational State Transfer">REST</abbr>
<abbr title="Short Message Service">SMS</abbr>
<abbr title="Scalable Vector Graphics">SVG</abbr>
<abbr title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</abbr>
<abbr title="Secure File Transfer Protocol">SFTP</abbr>
<abbr title="Secure Sockets Layer">SSL</abbr>
<abbr title="Structured Query Language">SQL</abbr>
<abbr title="Tape ARchive (file format)">TAR</abbr>
<abbr title="Transport Layer Security">TLS</abbr>
<abbr title="Uniform Resource Indicator">URI</abbr>
<abbr title="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</abbr>
<abbr title="Universal Serial Bus">USB</abbr>
<abbr title="User Experience">UX</abbr>
<abbr title="User Interface">UI</abbr>
<abbr title="Virtual Private Network">VPN</abbr>
<abbr title="Virtual Private Server">VPS</abbr>
<abbr title="Windows">Win</abbr>
<abbr title="WordPress">WP</abbr>
<abbr title="Extensible Markup Language">XML</abbr>
<abbr title="ZIP (file format)">ZIP</abbr>

Bonus, I also commonly use the following general abbreviations.

<abbr title="Also Known As">AKA</abbr>
<abbr title="As Soon As Possible">ASAP</abbr>
<abbr title="Block Bad Queries">BBQ</abbr>
<abbr title="Digging Into WordPress">DigWP</abbr>
<abbr title="Do It Yourself">DIY</abbr>
<abbr title="Frequently Asked Question">FAQ</abbr>
<abbr title="For The Win">FTW</abbr>
<abbr title="For Your Information">FYI</abbr>
<abbr title="In My Humble Opinion">imho</abbr>
<abbr title="In My Opinion">imo</abbr>
<abbr title="Laugh Out Loud">lol</abbr>
<abbr title="nth Generation">nG</abbr>
<abbr title="Regular Expression">regex</abbr>
<abbr title="Too long; didn't read">tl;dr</abbr>

I’ll continue updating this list as new abbreviations come along.

reference

About the Author

Jeff Starr = Web Developer. Book Author. Secretly Important.