HTML Basics

Introduction

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard language used to create and design webpages. It defines the structure of web content using a system of elements represented by tags. HTML forms the foundation of every website on the internet.

HTML Structure

An HTML document typically consists of the following structure:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Page Title</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Main Heading</h1>
    <p>Paragraph text.</p>
  </body>
</html>

HTML Tags

Tags are the building blocks of HTML. Most tags come in pairs, an opening tag <tag> and a closing tag </tag>.

<h1> to <h6> — Headings
<p> — Paragraph
<a> — Anchor (link)
<img> — Image
<div> — Division container

HTML Elements

HTML elements include the start tag, content, and end tag. For example:

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

Some elements are self-closing, like:

<img src="image.jpg" alt="Image">

HTML Attributes

Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements. They are always included in the opening tag.

<a href="https://example.com">Visit</a>

href: for links
src: for image source
alt: alternative text for images
id, class: for styling and JS access

HTML Tables

Tables are used to display data in rows and columns.

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Name</th>
    <th>Age</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Alice</td>
    <td>23</td>
  </tr>
</table>

HTML Lists

There are three types of lists:

Ordered List (<ol>): numbered items
Unordered List (<ul>): bullet points
Description List (<dl>): terms and descriptions

HTML Forms

Forms collect user input and send it to a server:

<form>
  <label>Name: <input type="text"></label>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

HTML Media

HTML supports embedding images, audio, and video:

<img> — images
<audio controls></audio> — audio playback
<video controls></video> — video playback

Reference

To learn more about HTML, refer to these resources:

HTML

HTML Technical Documentation