What is HTML? A Simple Guide for Beginners
Have you ever looked at a beautifully designed website and wondered, "How is this made?" The answer almost always starts with three letters: HTML.
It's the skeleton, the framework, the very foundation upon which every single webpage on the internet is built. If you're curious about how the web works or want to start your journey as a web developer, understanding HTML is your crucial first step.
This guide will break down exactly what HTML is, how it functions, and provide you with the knowledge to write your own.
What Does HTML Stand For?
HTML is an acronym for Hypertext Markup Language. Let's unpack that:
Hypertext: This means "text that contains links." It's what makes the web a "web"—the ability to click on hyperlinks and jump from one document or page to another. It's the "HT" in "HTTP" as well.
Markup: This is the core of HTML. Instead of being a programming language that performs logic (like Python or JavaScript), HTML is a markup language. Its job is to "mark up" raw text to give it structure and meaning. You're essentially annotating the text to tell the browser, "This is a heading," "This is a paragraph," "This is an image," etc.
Language: It's a language with its own syntax (rules) and vocabulary (the tags we'll discuss next).
In short, HTML is the standard language used to create and structure content on the web.
How Does HTML Work? Understanding Tags and Elements
HTML works by using a system of tags. Tags are the hidden keywords within a web page that define how the browser must format and display the content.
Tags are surrounded by angle brackets, like this: <tagname>. Most tags come in pairs: an opening tag and a closing tag. The closing tag includes a forward slash (/).
The content you want to mark up sits between these two tags. The entire thing—opening tag, content, and closing tag—is called an HTML element.
<opening tag> Your Content Here </closing tag>
An HTML Element
Common HTML Tags Every Beginner Should Know
Here are some of the most fundamental HTML tags:
<h1>, <h2>, ... <h6>: Heading tags. <h1> is the largest and most important (usually the main title of the page), and <h6> is the smallest.
<p>: Defines a paragraph. All the body text you're reading right now is inside <p> tags.
<a>: The anchor tag, which creates hyperlinks. It uses the href attribute to define the link's destination (e.g., <a href="https://www.example.com">Visit Example.com</a>).
<img>: The image tag, used to embed an image. It's a self-closing tag (it doesn't need a closing tag). It uses the src attribute to specify the image's source and alt for alternative text. (e.g., <img src="cat.jpg" alt="A fluffy orange cat">).
<ul>, <ol>, and <li>: Used to create lists. <ul> is for unordered (bulleted) lists, <ol> is for ordered (numbered) lists, and <li> defines each list item inside them.
<div>: A division or section. This is a generic container used to group other elements together for styling with CSS or manipulation with JavaScript. It's a workhorse of web layout.
<span>: An inline container used to mark up a part of a text or a part of a document for styling.
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