HTML5 Introduction

What is HTML?

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language

It is the standard language used to create and structure web pages on the internet.

Think of HTML as the skeleton of a web page — it tells the browser what content is on the page and how it is organized.

Breaking down the name

HyperText - Means text with links (called hyperlinks) that can take you to other pages.
Markup - It uses tags to “mark up” text, images, videos, etc. to define their purpose and structure.
Language - A set of rules and syntax that browsers understand.

Why is HTML important?

Every web page you see uses HTML.
Without HTML, browsers wouldn’t know how to display content.
It is the foundation of all websites.

Why was HTML5 introduced?

HTML4 (from 1997) was outdated and not designed for the modern web applications people wanted to build.
Earlier versions of HTML needed external plugins (like Flash, Silverlight) to handle video, audio, animations, and graphics.
HTML5 introduced built-in support for audio, video, graphics (canvas, SVG), and better forms
It also aimed to make websites work better on mobile devices, supporting responsive design and new APIs.

Key Features of HTML5

New semantic elements: like <header>, <footer>, <article>, <section>, <nav>, etc.(Helps define the structure of the page more clearly.)
Audio and Video support: with <audio> and <video> tags, you can play media directly.
Canvas & SVG: for drawing graphics on the fly.
Form enhancements: new input types (email, date, range), attributes (required, placeholder).
Local Storage & Session Storage: store data in the browser, without cookies.
Geolocation API: to get the user's location.
Better support for JavaScript & APIs : like Web Workers, Web Sockets.
Mobile-friendly: built with mobile devices in mind.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
   <title>My First Page</title>
</head>
<body>
   <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
   <p>This is my first web page using HTML.</p>
   <a href="https://example.com">Visit Example</a>
</body>
</html>