HTML Introduction Example

My First Heading

My first paragraph.

What is HTML? HTML is a language for describing web pages.
* HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language.
* HTML is not a programming language, it is a markup language.
* A markup language is a set of markup tags.
* HTML uses markup tags to describe web pages HTML Tags HTML markup tags are usually called HTML tags.
* HTML tags are keywords surrounded by angle brackets like < and >
* HTML tags normally come in pairs like and.
* The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag.
* Start and end tags are also called opening tags and closing tags.
* HTML documents contain HTML tags and plain text.
* HTML documents are also called web pages.

The purpose of a Web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) is to read HTML documents and display them as web pages. The browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses the tags to interpret the content of the page:

My First Heading

My first paragraph.

Example Explained * The text between and describes the web page * The text between and is the visible page content * The text between

and

is displayed as a heading * The text between

and

is displayed as a paragraph What You Need You don't need any tools to learn HTML at W3Schools. * You don't need an HTML editor * You don't need a web server * You don't need a web site Editing HTML HTML can be written and edited using many different editors like Dreamweaver and Visual Studio. However, in this tutorial we use a plain text editor (like Notepad) to edit HTML. We believe using a plain text editor is the best way to learn HTML. Create Your Own Test Web If you just want to learn HTML, skip the rest of this chapter. If you want to create a test page on your own computer, just copy the 3 files below to your desktop. (Right click on each link, and select "save target as" or "save link as") mainpage.htm page1.htm page2.htm After you have copied the files, you can double-click on the file called "mainpage.htm" and see your first web site in action. Use Your Test Web For Learning We suggest you experiment with everything you learn at W3Schools by editing your web files with a text editor (like Notepad). Note: If your test web contains HTML markup tags you have not learned, don't panic. You will learn all about it in the next chapters. .HTM or .HTML File Extension? When you save an HTML file, you can use either the .htm or the .html file extension. There is no difference, it is entirely up to you. http://w3schools.com/html/html_primary.asp HTML Links HTML links are defined with the tag. Example This is a link HTML Images HTML images are defined with the tag. Example HTML documents are defined by HTML elements. HTML Elements An HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag: Start tag * Element content End tag *

This is a paragraph

This is a link
* The start tag is often called the opening tag. The end tag is often called the closing tag. HTML Element Syntax * An HTML element starts with a start tag / opening tag * An HTML element ends with an end tag / closing tag * The element content is everything between the start and the end tag * Some HTML elements have empty content * Empty elements are closed in the start tag * Most HTML elements can have attributes Nested HTML Elements Most HTML elements can be nested (can contain other HTML elements). HTML documents consist of nested HTML elements. HTML Document Example

This is my first paragraph.

The example above contains 3 HTML elements. HTML Example Explained The

element:

This is my first paragraph.

The element defines a paragraph in the HTML document. The element has a start tag and an end tag . The element content is: This is my first paragraph. The element:

This is my first paragraph.

The element defines the body of the HTML document. The element has a start tag and an end tag . The element content is another HTML element (a p element). The element:

This is my first paragraph.

The element defines the whole HTML document. The element has a start tag and an end tag . The element content is another HTML element (the body element). Don't Forget the End Tag Some HTML elements might display correctly even if you forget the end tag:

This is a paragraph

This is a paragraph The example above works in most browsers, because the closing tag is considered optional. Never rely on this. Many HTML elements will produce unexpected results and/or errors if you forget the end tag . Empty HTML Elements HTML elements with no content are called empty elements.
is an empty element without a closing tag (the tag defines a line break). Tip: In XHTML, all elements must be closed. Adding a slash inside the start tag, like
, is the proper way of closing empty elements in XHTML (and XML). HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Tags HTML tags are not case sensitive: means the same as . Many web sites use uppercase HTML tags. W3Schools use lowercase tags because the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase in HTML 4, and demands lowercase tags in XHTML. HTML Attributes Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements. HTML Attributes * HTML elements can have attributes * Attributes provide additional information about an element * Attributes are always specified in the start tag * Attributes come in name/value pairs like: name="value" Attribute Example HTML links are defined with the tag. The link address is specified in the href attribute: Example This is a link Always Quote Attribute Values Attribute values should always be enclosed in quotes. Double style quotes are the most common, but single style quotes are also allowed. Tip: In some rare situations, when the attribute value itself contains quotes, it is necessary to use single qHTML Tip: Use Lowercase Attributes Attribute names and attribute values are case-insensitive. However, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase attributes/attribute values in their HTML 4 recommendation. Newer versions of (X)HTML will demand lowercase attributes. uotes: name='John "ShotGun" Nelson' HTML Attributes Reference Below is a list of some attributes that are standard for most HTML elements: Attribute Value Description class classname Specifies a classname for an element id id Specifies a unique id for an element style style_definition Specifies an inline style for an element title tooltip_text Specifies extra information about an element (displayed as a tool tip) Ordered Alphabetically DTD: indicates in which HTML 4.01 / XHTML 1.0 DTD the tag is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset Tag Description DTD Defines a comment STF Defines the document type STF Defines an anchor STF Defines an abbreviation STF Defines an acronym STF

Defines contact information for the author/owner of a document STF