What Is HTML?
The foundation of every website. Let's start from absolute zero.
What Is HTML?
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It's not a programming language — it's a markup language. This is an important difference:
- A programming language (like Python or JavaScript) tells the computer what to do — it has logic, calculations, and decision-making
- A markup language (like HTML) tells the computer what things are — it describes and structures content
Think of HTML as the skeleton of a webpage. It says "here's a heading, here's a paragraph, here's an image." Every single website you've ever visited — Google, YouTube, Wikipedia — uses HTML underneath.
Tags and Elements
HTML uses tags to mark up content. Tags are written inside angle brackets < >:
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>This whole thing — the opening tag, the content, and the closing tag — is called an element. Here are a few more examples:
<h1>This is a big heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph of text.</p>
<button>This is a clickable button</button><h1>— a top-level heading (the biggest one)<p>— a paragraph of text<button>— a clickable button
The pattern is always the same: an opening tag like <p>, then your content, then a closing tag like </p>. The closing tag always has a forward slash before the name.
Your First HTML Page
Every HTML page has the same basic structure. Here's the smallest valid HTML document:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My First Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello, world!</h1>
<p>Welcome to my website.</p>
</body>
</html>What each part does:
<!DOCTYPE html>— tells the browser "this is an HTML5 document." Always goes at the very top.<html>— wraps the entire page. Everything goes inside it.<head>— contains information about the page (like the title that shows in the browser tab). Nothing in head is visible on the page itself.<title>— the text that appears in the browser tab. Goes inside<head>.<body>— everything visible on the page goes here: headings, paragraphs, images, buttons — all of it.
Headings and Paragraphs
HTML gives you six heading levels, from <h1> (most important) down to <h6> (least important):
<h1>Main Heading — the biggest</h1>
<h2>Subheading</h2>
<h3>Smaller subheading</h3>
<h4>Even smaller</h4>
<h5>Getting tiny</h5>
<h6>Smallest heading</h6>Headings aren't just about making text big — they create structure. Search engines and screen readers use headings to understand your page. A well-structured page uses <h1> once for the main topic, then <h2>s for sections, and so on.
Paragraphs use the <p> tag:
<p>This is a paragraph. Browsers automatically add space between paragraphs.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph. Notice the gap between them.</p>How to Try This
You don't need any special software to write HTML. Here's the simplest way to try it right now:
- Open any text editor — Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), or even Notes will work
- Paste the HTML from "Your First HTML Page" above
- Save the file as
index.html(make sure the extension is.html, not.txt) - Double-click the file — it opens in your browser!
Or use an online tool like codepen.io — it lets you write HTML and see the result instantly, no files needed.
Try It Yourself
Create a simple page about yourself. It should include:
- A title (in the head)
- A main heading with your name
- Two paragraphs about yourself
Hint: start with the "Your First HTML Page" template and replace the content with your own.
Key Terms
Check Your Understanding
What does HTML stand for?
What is the difference between a tag and an element?
<p>). An element is the whole thing: opening tag, content, and closing tag together.What goes inside the <head> vs the <body>?
<head> contains information about the page (like the title). The <body> contains everything the user actually sees on the page.Want the full web development course?
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