Basic HTML Tags

The most important tags in HTML are tags that define headings, paragraphs and line breaks.

The best way to learn HTML is to work with examples. We have created a very nice HTML editor for you. With this editor, you can edit the HTML source code if you like, and click on a test button to view the result.

Try it Yourself – Examples

A very simple HTML documentThis example is a very simple HTML document, with only a minimum of HTML tags. It demonstrates how the text inside a body element is displayed in the browser.

Simple paragraphs

This example demonstrates how the text inside paragraph elements is displayed in the browser.

Headings

Headings are defined with the h1 to h6 tags. h1 defines the largest heading. h6 defines the smallest heading.

HTML automatically adds an extra blank line before and after a heading.

HTML Elements

HTML documents are text files made up of HTML elements.

HTML elements are defined using HTML tags.

HTML Tags

• HTML tags are used to mark-up HTML elements

• HTML tags are surrounded by the two characters and

• The surrounding characters are called angle brackets

• HTML tags normally come in pairs like b and /b

• The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag

• The text between the start and end tags is the element content

• HTML tags are not case sensitive, b means the same as B
  

HTML Elements

Remember the HTML example from the previous page:

This is an HTML element:

The HTML element starts with a start tag: b

The content of the HTML element is: This text is bold

The HTML element ends with an end tag: /b

The purpose of the b tag is to define an HTML element that should be displayed as bold.

This is also an HTML element:

This HTML element starts with the start tag body, and ends with the end tag /body.

The purpose of the body tag is to define the HTML element that contains the body of the HTML document.

Why do We Use Lowercase Tags?

We have just said that HTML tags are not case sensitive: B means the same as b. If you surf the Web, you will notice that plenty of web sites use uppercase HTML tags in their source code. We always use lowercase tags. Why?

If you want to follow the latest web standards, you should always use lowercase tags. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase tags in their HTML 4 recommendation, and XHTML (the next generation HTML) demands lowercase tags.

HTML Tutorial

HTML Basic

In this HTML tutorial you will learn how to use HTML to create your own Web site.

HTML is very easy to learn!

You will enjoy it!

Introduction to HTML

What is an HTML File?

• HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language

• An HTML file is a text file containing small markup tags
  
• The markup tags tell the Web browser how to display the page
  
• An HTML file must have an htm or html file extension
  
• An HTML file can be created using a simple text editor
  

Do You Want to Try It?

If you are running Windows, start Notepad.

If you are on a Mac, start SimpleText.

In OSX start Text Edit and change the following preferences: Open the "Format" menu and select "Plain text" instead of "Rich text". Then open the "Preferences" window under the "Text Edit" menu and select "Ignore rich text commands in HTML files". Your HTML code will probably not work if you do not change the preferences above!

Type in the following text:

Save the file as "mypage.htm".

Start your Internet browser. Select "Open" (or "Open Page") in the File menu of your browser.

A dialog box will appear. Select "Browse" (or "Choose File") and locate the HTML file you just created - "mypage.htm" - select it and click "Open".

Now you should see an address in the dialog box, for example "C:\MyDocuments\mypage.htm". Click OK, and the browser will display the page.

Example Explained

The first tag in your HTML document is html. This tag tells your browser that this is the start of an HTML document. The last tag in your document is /html. This tag tells your browser that this is the end of the HTML document.

The text between the head tag and the /head tag is header information. Header information is not displayed in the browser window.

The text between the title tags is the title of your document. The title is displayed in your browser's caption.

The text between the body tags is the text that will be displayed in your browser.

The text between the b and /b tags will be displayed in a bold font.

HTM or HTML Extension?

When you save an HTML file, you can use either the .htm or the .html extension. We have used .htm in our examples. It might be a bad habit inherited from the past when some of the commonly used software only allowed three letter extensions.

With newer software we think it will be perfectly safe to use .html.

Note on HTML Editors:

You can easily edit HTML files using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, instead of writing your markup tags in a plain text file.

However, if you want to be a skillful Web developer, we strongly recommend that you use a plain text editor to learn your primer HTML.

Be an Artist on a Global Scale

Armed with nothing but your creativity and a computer, you can design functional works of art seen and used by people all over the world.

With over a billion people surfing the Internet, websites can get hundreds, thousands or even millions of visits a day. That's serious exposure.

If you are a daring artist looking to put yourself out there, a career in web design may be right for you.

Web Design: An Exciting New Medium

Being a web designer means being at the forefront of technology. Instead of brushes and paint, you work with pixels and pointers.

If you're worried about learning "computer-speak," know that web designing software has changed significantly over the years. "Web software programs now are as easy as using Word or Powerpoint".

"It's not about looking at code. I've used Photoshop for years, and I treat it as a piece of paper." A good web design degree or certification program will give you the software and computer training you need to design cutting-edge web pages.

Finding Your Passion

Web design is a lot more than making pretty pictures on a computer. "You meet interesting people and hear great ideas from individuals wanting a website," says Julie Gau, a professional graphic web designer.

"So many clients wanting different things with different goals in different situations somehow all come to you with a website as the solution to their problems. It's always a challenge, but if you love it, the challenge is all part of the fun."