HTML Introduction

HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages.

Introduction to HTML:

What is HTML?

HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the standard markup language used to create the structure and content of web pages. It is a fundamental building block of web development. HTML consists of a series of elements, each represented by a tag, which defines the structure and content of different parts of a web page.

The role of HTML in web development.

HTML plays a fundamental role in web development by providing the structure and foundation for creating web pages. Its primary functions and roles in web development include:

Setting Up Your Development Environment:

Text editors (e.g., Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text).
Web browsers for testing (e.g., Chrome, Firefox).

Basic HTML Document Structure:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>element
<head> and <title> elements
<body> element

HTML Elements:

Understanding HTML tags
Common HTML elements (e.g., headings, paragraphs, lists).

Attributes:

Adding attributes to HTML elements.
Common attributes (e.g., id, class, src).

Links and Navigation:

Creating hyperlinks with <a> tag.
Linking to internal and external pages.
Navigation using lists (<ul>, <ol>, <li>).

Images:

Embedding images with the <img> tag.
Using attributes for images (e.g., src,alt)

Forms:

Building forms with <form> tag.
Form elements (e.g.,<input>, <textarea>, <select>).
Form attributes (e.g., action, method).

Semantic HTML:

Introduction to semantic elements (e.g., <header>, <footer>, <section>).
Improving accessibility with semantic tags.

HTML5 Features:

New elements in HTML5 (e.g.,<article> , <nav>, <figure>)
Multimedia elements (e.g., <audio>, <video>)

Validation and Best Practices:

Using validators to check HTML code.
Best practices for clean and maintainable code.

Responsive Web Design

Introduction to responsive design.
Using viewport meta tag.
Media queries for responsive styles.

Basic CSS Integration:

Linking CSS stylesheets to HTML.
Basic styling concepts (e.g., colors, fonts).

Additional Resources:

Online documentation and references.
Further learning paths (e.g., CSS, JavaScript).

Practice Exercises:

Hands-on exercises to reinforce learning.

For practical learning, it's recommended to code along with the examples and create your own simple web pages. As you become more comfortable with HTML, you can explore other web development technologies like CSS for styling and JavaScript for interactivity. Numerous online platforms and resources provide interactive coding environments and exercises to enhance your skills.

A Simple HTML Document

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>

<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

You can click on above box to edit the code and run again.

Output

My First Heading

My first paragraph

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

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>	<p>	<br>
My First Heading	My first paragraph.	none
</h1>	</p>	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!

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
1898	Tim Berners-Lee invented "World Wide Web".
1991	Tim Berners-Lee released the first version of the HTML specification (HTML 1.0).
1993	drafted the HTML+ specification, which was an extension of the original HTML (HyperText Markup Language).
1995	HTML Working Group defined HTML 2.0
1997	The HTML 4.0 specification was released by These day
1999	HTML 4.01 was the prevalent version during this time
2008	The Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) started the HTML5 initiative
2010	HTML5 Standardization : HTML5 standardization process from WHATWG.
2012	WHATWG HTML5 Living Standard
2014	Recommendation: HTML5
2016	Candidate Recommendation: HTML 5.1
2017	Recommendation: HTML5.1 2nd Edition
2019	HTML Living Standard: The "HTML Living Standard," reflecting its continuous evolution rather than periodic version updates.

This tutorial follows the latest HTML5 standard.