HTML Introduction

Learn what HTML is and why every web page starts with it.

HTML is the foundation of every website on the internet. Before learning CSS, JavaScript, React, or any other web technology, it is important to understand HTML because it provides the structure and content of a webpage.

What is HTML?

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard language used to create web pages. HyperText means text that contains links to other pages. Markup Language means a language that uses tags to define and organize content.

What content to display
How content is structured
Which parts are headings, paragraphs, images, links, tables, forms, and more

Example

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Page</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome</h1>
    <p>This is my first HTML page.</p>
</body>
</html>

Output

Welcome

This is my first HTML page.

Key Points

HTML creates the structure of a webpage.
HTML is not a programming language.
HTML works together with CSS and JavaScript.

HTML

Structure

CSS

Design

JavaScript

Functionality

History of HTML

HTML was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991 while working at CERN. His goal was to allow scientists to share documents over the internet.

Year	Version	Description
1991	HTML 1.0	First version of HTML
1995	HTML 2.0	Official HTML standard
1997	HTML 3.2	Added tables and scripting support
1999	HTML 4.01	Improved styling and forms
2014	HTML5	Added video, audio, canvas, APIs
Present	HTML Living Standard	Continuously updated

How Websites Are Structured

A website is built using three main technologies:

HTML creates the content and layout.
CSS controls how the webpage looks.
JavaScript adds interaction.

HTML

<h1>My Blog</h1>
<p>Welcome to my blog.</p>
<button>Click Me</button>

CSS

h1 {
    color: blue;
}

JavaScript

button.onclick = function() {
    alert("Button Clicked!");
};

How a Browser Displays a Website

You enter a URL.
The browser requests the webpage from the server.
The server sends HTML files.
The browser reads the HTML.
The browser builds the webpage and displays it.

Output

User
  |
Browser
  |
Server
  |
HTML + CSS + JS
  |
Web Page Displayed

Key Takeaways

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language.
HTML is used to create the structure of web pages.
HTML was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991.
HTML5 introduced modern web features like video, audio, and semantic elements.
Every webpage starts with HTML.