How to use HTML to create a website

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by Lime Red Tetrahedron

Created on: December 05, 2009 Last Updated: June 20, 2010

Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML for short, is the language of the internet. Often poorly understood, it is the hidden backbone behind everything we do online - be it surfing, watching videos, sending emails, .etc Though it is not common knowledge among the vast expanse of internet users worldwide, it is in no respect difficult to learn! In fact, HTML is and was designed to be an approachable and easy to use language, and should remain that way into the future. This quality of HTML makes building a website fun! This article will provide an overview of the concepts behind HTML and how your page viewers get to see the HTML you write.

First of all, what exactly is HTML?

To build a website, one needs HTML "code" that the client's computer can interpret and display. The other prerequisite is a delivery method for this code, so that it can reach the client's computer and be interpreted. This data transfer is accomplished by a dedicated "server" computer: a computer who's only purpose is to deliver content. After these two requirements have been met, however, many find themselves staring at a blank page. What next? In actuality, combining the content and its delivery method could not be easier.

An HTML Primer

Every HTML page is composed of structures called tags - so named for their resemblance to tags we see in everyday life. For instance, all HTML code proceeds the tag <html> and precedes the tag </html> All tags must be followed by a closing tag, which is identical to the opening tag, but with the tag identifier preceded by a '/' character.

Types of Tags

<p>: The paragraph tag. Enclose text between these tags in order to format it into paragraph form.

Example: <p>This text is inside of a paragraph.</p>

<center>: Enclose text between these tags in order to center it onscreen.

Example: <center>This text is centered.</center>

<h1>: Enclose text between these tags in order to create a page heading.

Example: <h1>This is a heading.</h1>

Note: <h2> creates a sub-heading, and <h3> creates a sub-subheading.

<b>: Enclose text between these tags in order to bold-face the text.

Example: <b>This is bold.</b>

<body>: The site's content MUST be enclosed between <body> tags in order to be displayed.

Example: <body>This is the content of the site. <p> This is a paragraph in the body. </p> </body>