diff --git a/src/js/bun.lockb b/src/js/bun.lockb
index 21e1e7ca7..e7927347c 100644
Binary files a/src/js/bun.lockb and b/src/js/bun.lockb differ
diff --git a/src/reactpy/__init__.py b/src/reactpy/__init__.py
index 0f2fe0d63..422f16781 100644
--- a/src/reactpy/__init__.py
+++ b/src/reactpy/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from reactpy import config, logging, reactjs, types, web, widgets
-from reactpy._html import html
+from reactpy._html import h, html
 from reactpy.core import hooks
 from reactpy.core.component import component
 from reactpy.core.events import event
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 from reactpy.utils import Ref, reactpy_to_string, string_to_reactpy
 
 __author__ = "The Reactive Python Team"
-__version__ = "2.0.0b9"
+__version__ = "2.0.0b10"
 
 __all__ = [
     "Ref",
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
     "config",
     "create_context",
     "event",
+    "h",
     "hooks",
     "html",
     "logging",
diff --git a/src/reactpy/utils.py b/src/reactpy/utils.py
index 6ebf90fdc..4966f9f4e 100644
--- a/src/reactpy/utils.py
+++ b/src/reactpy/utils.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from lxml import etree
 from lxml.html import fromstring
 
-from reactpy import html
+from reactpy import h
 from reactpy.transforms import RequiredTransforms, attributes_to_reactjs
 from reactpy.types import Component, VdomDict
 
@@ -105,9 +105,14 @@ def string_to_reactpy(
             event handler that prevents the browser from navigating to the link. This is
             useful if you would rather have `reactpy-router` handle your URL navigation.
     """
-    if not isinstance(html, str):  # nocov
+    if not isinstance(html, str):
         msg = f"Expected html to be a string, not {type(html).__name__}"
         raise TypeError(msg)
+    if not html.strip():
+        return h.fragment()
+    if "<" not in html or ">" not in html:
+        msg = "Expected html string to contain HTML tags, but no tags were found."
+        raise ValueError(msg)
 
     # If the user provided a string, convert it to a list of lxml.etree nodes
     try:
@@ -153,7 +158,7 @@ def _etree_to_vdom(
     attributes = attributes_to_reactjs(dict(node.items()))
 
     # Convert the lxml node to a VDOM dict
-    constructor = getattr(html, str(node.tag))
+    constructor = getattr(h, str(node.tag))
     el = constructor(attributes, children)
 
     # Perform necessary transformations on the VDOM attributes to meet VDOM spec
@@ -236,13 +241,13 @@ def component_to_vdom(component: Component) -> VdomDict:
     """Convert the first render of a component into a VDOM dictionary"""
     result = component.render()
 
+    if result is None:
+        return h.fragment()
     if isinstance(result, dict):
         return result
     if hasattr(result, "render"):
         return component_to_vdom(cast(Component, result))
-    elif isinstance(result, str):
-        return html.div(result)
-    return html()
+    return h.div(result) if isinstance(result, str) else h.div()
 
 
 def _react_attribute_to_html(key: str, value: Any) -> tuple[str, str]:
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 96787a799..85aa2126d 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 )
 from reactpy.testing.display import _playwright_visible
 
+from . import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 REACTPY_ASYNC_RENDERING.set_current(True)
 REACTPY_DEBUG.set_current(True)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_client.py b/tests/test_client.py
index e05286f74..8098a3f98 100644
--- a/tests/test_client.py
+++ b/tests/test_client.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 from tests.tooling.common import DEFAULT_TYPE_DELAY
 from tests.tooling.hooks import use_counter
 
+from . import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 JS_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "js"
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_core/test_component.py b/tests/test_core/test_component.py
index 4cbfebd54..31e63fadc 100644
--- a/tests/test_core/test_component.py
+++ b/tests/test_core/test_component.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import reactpy
 from reactpy.testing import DisplayFixture
 
+from .. import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 def test_component_repr():
     @reactpy.component
diff --git a/tests/test_core/test_events.py b/tests/test_core/test_events.py
index dd99018b5..52b515308 100644
--- a/tests/test_core/test_events.py
+++ b/tests/test_core/test_events.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 from reactpy.types import Event
 from tests.tooling.common import DEFAULT_TYPE_DELAY
 
+from .. import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 def test_event_handler_repr():
     handler = EventHandler(lambda: None)
diff --git a/tests/test_core/test_hooks.py b/tests/test_core/test_hooks.py
index 8e5814152..c1816ea60 100644
--- a/tests/test_core/test_hooks.py
+++ b/tests/test_core/test_hooks.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 from reactpy.utils import Ref
 from tests.tooling.common import DEFAULT_TYPE_DELAY, update_message
 
+from .. import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 async def test_must_be_rendering_in_layout_to_use_hooks():
     @reactpy.component
diff --git a/tests/test_html.py b/tests/test_html.py
index 930b3e2fb..f97bf49b2 100644
--- a/tests/test_html.py
+++ b/tests/test_html.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 from tests.tooling.common import DEFAULT_TYPE_DELAY
 from tests.tooling.hooks import use_counter
 
+from . import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 async def test_script_re_run_on_content_change(display: DisplayFixture):
     @component
diff --git a/tests/test_pyscript/test_components.py b/tests/test_pyscript/test_components.py
index 6d1080a57..cb8b729c2 100644
--- a/tests/test_pyscript/test_components.py
+++ b/tests/test_pyscript/test_components.py
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 from reactpy.testing import BackendFixture, DisplayFixture
 from reactpy.testing.backend import root_hotswap_component
 
+from .. import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="module")
 async def display(browser):
diff --git a/tests/test_reactjs/test_modules.py b/tests/test_reactjs/test_modules.py
index 9094310a1..8152fdfd3 100644
--- a/tests/test_reactjs/test_modules.py
+++ b/tests/test_reactjs/test_modules.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 from reactpy.reactjs import component_from_string, import_reactjs
 from reactpy.testing import BackendFixture, DisplayFixture
 
+from .. import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 JS_FIXTURES_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "js_fixtures"
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_sample.py b/tests/test_sample.py
index 1e6654c0e..3fb95f9a2 100644
--- a/tests/test_sample.py
+++ b/tests/test_sample.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 from reactpy.testing import DisplayFixture
 from tests.sample import SampleApp
 
+from . import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 async def test_sample_app(display: DisplayFixture):
     await display.show(SampleApp)
diff --git a/tests/test_testing.py b/tests/test_testing.py
index 60435a8cf..ffefde330 100644
--- a/tests/test_testing.py
+++ b/tests/test_testing.py
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 from reactpy.testing.display import DisplayFixture
 from tests.sample import SampleApp
 
+from . import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 
 def test_assert_reactpy_logged_does_not_suppress_errors():
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match=r"expected error"):
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 52cea0f6a..f15277a9d 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -92,6 +92,23 @@ def test_string_to_reactpy(case):
     assert utils.string_to_reactpy(case["source"]) == case["model"]
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("source", ["", "   ", "\n\t  "])
+def test_string_to_reactpy_empty_source(source):
+    assert utils.string_to_reactpy(source) == html.fragment()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("source", [123, None, object()])
+def test_string_to_reactpy_non_string_source(source):
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+        utils.string_to_reactpy(source)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("source", ["no tags", "plain text", "just words"])
+def test_string_to_reactpy_missing_tags(source):
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        utils.string_to_reactpy(source)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "case",
     [
diff --git a/tests/test_web/test_module.py b/tests/test_web/test_module.py
index 9b5cb87d9..72f5518de 100644
--- a/tests/test_web/test_module.py
+++ b/tests/test_web/test_module.py
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 )
 from reactpy.types import InlineJavaScript
 
+from .. import pytestmark  # noqa: F401
+
 JS_FIXTURES_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "js_fixtures"