HTML: The Foundation of the Web
HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the standard language for creating and structuring the content of web pages. Think of it as the skeleton or blueprint that gives shape to the websites you visit every day.
Key Concepts:
- Markup Language: HTML is not a programming language. It’s a markup language, meaning it uses tags to annotate text and define how it should be displayed in a web browser.
- Tags: These are the core building blocks of HTML. They are enclosed within angle brackets (e.g.,
<p>,<h1>,<img>). - Elements: A tag and its contents (if any) together form an element. For instance,
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>is a paragraph element. - Attributes: Many tags can have attributes that provide additional information. For example, the
<img>tag has ansrcattribute to specify the image source.
Basic Structure of an HTML Document:
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>My Web Page</title> </head> <body> <h1>Welcome to My Web Page</h1> <p>This is a paragraph of text.</p> </body> </html>
<!DOCTYPE html>: This declaration tells the browser it’s an HTML5 document.<html>: The root element of the page.<head>: Contains meta-information about the page, such as the title.<body>: Contains the visible content of the page.
Why is HTML Important?
- Foundation of the Web: Every website you visit is built upon HTML.
- Accessibility: HTML provides structure that helps assistive technologies (like screen readers) understand and present web content to users with disabilities.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search engines use HTML to understand the content and structure of a page, which impacts its ranking in search results.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: HTML works across different browsers and operating systems.
Anonymous