What is HTML?
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages
HTML describes the structure of a Web page
HTML consists of a series of elements
HTML elements tell the browser how to display the content
HTML elements label pieces of content such as "this is a heading", "this
is a paragraph", "this is a link", etc.
Example Explained
The <!DOCTYPE html> declaration defines that this document is an HTML5
document
The <html> element is the root element of an HTML page
The <head> element contains meta information about the HTML page
The <title> element specifies a title for the HTML page (which is shown
in the browser's title bar or in the page's tab)
The <body> element defines the document's body, and is a container for
all the visible contents, such as headings, paragraphs, images,
hyperlinks, tables, lists, etc.
The <h1> element defines a large heading
The <p> element defines a paragraph
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
What is an HTML Element?
An HTML element is defined by a start tag, some content, and an end tag:
<tagname> Content goes here... </tagname>
The HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag:
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
Start tag Element content End tag
<h1> My First Heading </h1>
<p> My first paragraph. </p>
<br> none none
Note: Some HTML elements have no content (like the <br> element). These
elements are called empty elements. Empty elements do not have an end
tag!
Web Browsers
The purpose of a web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) is to read
HTML documents and display them correctly.
A browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses them to determine how
to display the document
HTML Page Structure
Below is a visualization of an HTML page structure:
<html>
<head>
<title>Page title</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Note: The content inside the <body> section will be displayed in a browser.
The content inside the <title> element will be shown in the browser's title
bar or in the page's tab
HTML History
Since the early days of the World Wide Web, there have been many versions
of HTML:
Year Version
1989 Tim Berners-Lee invented www
1991 Tim Berners-Lee invented HTML
1993 Dave Raggett drafted HTML+
1995 HTML Working Group defined HTML 2.0
1997 W3C Recommendation: HTML 3.2
1999 W3C Recommendation: HTML 4.01
2000 W3C Recommendation: XHTML 1.0
2008 WHATWG HTML5 First Public Draft
2012 WHATWG HTML5 Living Standard
2014 W3C Recommendation: HTML5
2016 W3C Candidate Recommendation: HTML 5.1
2017 W3C Recommendation: HTML5.1 2nd Edition
2017 W3C Recommendation: HTML5.2
This course follows the latest HTML5 standard
Learn HTML Using Notepad or TextEdit
Web pages can be created and modified by using professional HTML editors.
However, for learning HTML we recommend a simple text editor like Notepad
(PC) or TextEdit (Mac).
We believe that using a simple text editor is a good way to learn HTML.
Follow the steps below to create your first web page with Notepad or
TextEdit
Step 1: Open Notepad (PC)
Windows 8 or later:
Open the Start Screen (the window symbol at the bottom left on your
screen). Type Notepad.
Windows 7 or earlier:
Open Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad
Step 1: Open TextEdit (Mac)
Open Finder > Applications > TextEdit
Also change some preferences to get the application to save files
correctly. In Preferences > Format > choose "Plain Text"
Then under "Open and Save", check the box that says "Display HTML files as
HTML code instead of formatted text".
Then open a new document to place the code.
Step 2: Write Some HTML
Write or copy the following HTML code into Notepad:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Step 3: Save the HTML Page
Save the file on your computer. Select File > Save as in the Notepad menu.
Name the file "[Link]" and set the encoding to UTF-8 (which is the
preferred Save the file on your computer. Select File > Save as in the
Notepad menu.
Name the file "[Link]" and set the encoding to UTF-8 (which is the
preferred encoding for HTML files).
Tip: You can use either .htm or .html as file extension. There is no
difference; it is up to you
encoding for HTML files).
Tip: You can use either .htm or .html as file extension. There is no
difference; it is up to you
Step 4: View the HTML Page in Your
Browser
Open the saved HTML file in your favorite browser (double click on the file, or
right-click - and choose "Open with").
The result will look much like this:
W3Schools Online Editor - "Try it
Yourself"
With our free online editor, you can edit the HTML code and view the result
in your browser.
It is the perfect tool when you want to test code fast. It also has color coding
and the ability to save and share code with others:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a Heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
HTML Documents
All HTML documents must start with a document type declaration: <!
DOCTYPE html>.
The HTML document itself begins with <html> and ends with </html>.
The visible part of the HTML document is between <body> and </body>.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html
The <!DOCTYPE> Declaration
The <!DOCTYPE> declaration represents the document type, and helps
browsers to display web pages correctly.
It must only appear once, at the top of the page (before any HTML tags).
The <!DOCTYPE> declaration is not case sensitive.
The <!DOCTYPE> declaration for HTML5 is:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
HTML Headings
HTML headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.
<h1> defines the most important heading. <h6> defines the least important
heading:
Example
<h1>This is heading 1</h1>
<h2>This is heading 2</h2>
<h3>This is heading 3</h3>
HTML Paragraphs
HTML paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag:
Example
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
HTML Links
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag:
Example
<a href="[Link] is a link</a>
The link's destination is specified in the href attribute.
Attributes are used to provide additional information about HTML elements.
You will learn more about attributes in a later chapter.
HTML Images
HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.
The source file (src), alternative text (alt), width, and height are provided
as attributes:
Example
<img src="[Link]" alt="[Link]" width="104"
height="142">