How to use colspan and rowspan to merge cells in an HTML table
To merge cells in HTML tables, you need to use colspan and rowspan properties. 1. Use colspan to make cells span multiple columns horizontally, such as
To merge cells in an HTML table, you can use the colspan
and rowspan
attributes. These allow a single table cell to span across multiple columns or rows, which is useful for creating more complex and organized table layouts.

Using colspan
to merge cells horizontally
The colspan
attribute lets a cell stretch across multiple columns. This is helpful when you want a header or data cell to cover more than one column.
For example:

<table border="1"> <tr> <th>Name</th> <th colspan="2">Contact Information</th> </tr> <tr> <td>John Doe</td> <td>Email: john@example.com</td> <td>Phone: 123-456-7890</td> </tr> </table>
In this case, the "Contact Information" header spans two columns, so it covers both the Email and Phone fields. You don't need a separate cell for the third column in the first row because the colspan="2"
takes up that space.
Important: When using colspan
, reduce the number of additional <td>
or <th>
elements in that row accordingly so you don't exceed the intended table structure.

Using rowspan
to merge cells vertically
The rowspan
attribute makes a cell span across multiple rows. This is often used for side headers or when data repeats down a column.
Example:
<table border="1"> <tr> <th>Department</th> <th>Employee</th> <th>Extension</th> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2">Sales</td> <td>John Doe</td> <td>101</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Jane Smith</td> <td>102</td> </tr> </table>
Here, the "Sales" department cell spans two rows, so it appears next to both John and Jane without needing to repeat the word "Sales".
Note: In the second row, we don't include a cell for the department because it's already occurred by the spanning cell from the previous row.
Combining colspan
and rowspan
You can use both attributes on the same cell if needed.
Example:
<table border="1"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" colspan="2">Combined Cell</td> <td>Cell 3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cell 4</td> </tr> </table>
This creates a large cell in the top-left that spans two rows and two columns. The layout must be carefully managed so that the total number of columns per row still matches after accounting for all spans.
Key Tips
- Always count your columns per row, including those taken up by
colspan
. - Make sure
rowspan
doesn't cause missing cells in lower rows. - Use
border="1"
during development (or CSS borders) to clearly see cell boundaries. - Avoid overusing
colspan
androwspan
—they can make tables harder to maintain and less accessible.
Basically, just plan your table structure on paper first if it's complex. Once you understand how the grid fills in, using colspan
and rowspan
becomes straightforward.
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