A tag is a set of markup characters that are used around an element to indicate its start and end. Tags can also include HTML or other code to specify how that element should look or behave on the page. These include "alt" tags that are added to photos to enhance SEO.

A template is a file used to create a consistent design across a website. Whereas a website may have over 100 pages, it may only need 10 templates, or custom designed page layouts that can be used on other pages with similar content structure.