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How to combine two HTML files into one?

Published in HTML Merging 3 mins read

Combining two HTML files into one involves a straightforward copy-and-paste process, followed by careful review and cleanup to ensure a valid and functional HTML document. Here's how to do it:

Steps to Combine HTML Files

  1. Copy the HTML content: Open both HTML files in a text editor (e.g., VS Code, Sublime Text, Notepad++). Select and copy the entire content of each file.

  2. Paste the content into a single HTML file: Create a new HTML file or choose one of the existing files to be the primary file. Paste the content of the second HTML file into the body of the first HTML file. Make sure it is pasted within the <body> tags.

  3. Manually review and identify duplicate elements: Carefully examine the combined HTML file for any duplicate elements, particularly:

    • IDs: HTML IDs must be unique within a single document. Duplicate IDs will cause problems with CSS styling and JavaScript functionality.
    • Classes: While not as critical as IDs, duplicate classes can lead to unexpected styling issues.
    • Scripts & Styles: Duplicate script or stylesheet links (<script> or <link>) can cause conflicts or performance issues.
    • Meta tags: Duplicated meta tags should be checked and merged if needed.

  4. Remove the duplicates: Eliminate the duplicate elements, keeping only one instance of each.

    • For duplicate IDs, rename one of the IDs to be unique. For example, if you have <div id="header"> in both original files, rename one to <div id="header2"> or <div id="main-header">.
    • For duplicate classes, determine if the elements should share the same styling. If so, leave the class as is. If not, rename or remove the class from one of the elements.
    • For duplicate scripts or stylesheets, remove the redundant <script> or <link> tags.
    • Ensure all opening and closing tags (<div>, </div>, etc.) are correctly paired and nested.

Example

Let's say you have file1.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>File 1</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1 id="title">Welcome to File 1</h1>
    <p>This is content from file 1.</p>
</body>
</html>

And file2.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>File 2</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1 id="title">Welcome to File 2</h1>
    <p>This is content from file 2.</p>
</body>
</html>

The combined file (combined.html) after following the steps would look something like this (after resolving the duplicate ID):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Combined File</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1 id="title">Welcome to File 1</h1>
    <p>This is content from file 1.</p>
    <h1 id="title2">Welcome to File 2</h1>
    <p>This is content from file 2.</p>
</body>
</html>

Notice that the id of the second h1 tag was changed to title2 to ensure uniqueness. You might also consider creating a new, more descriptive title for the combined file.

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