HTML Explained
Creating Web Pages With HTML
Web pages are written using the Hyper Text Markup Language - HTML for short. It is a simple language which defines how the information within the page should be presented. It is unlike conventional programming languages, in that it is a markup language, which means that a page is marked with codes to define how it should be displayed in a web browser. These codes are called tags.
Tags are plain text messages embedded within the page which the browser reads to determine the page's appearance. Tags are identified within angle-brackets < and >, e.g. <TITLE> and </TITLE>. As you can see, most tags also have end tags, marked with a forward slash before the tag's name, indicating that everything between the start tag and end tag must be displayed appropriately.
HTML Structure
All HTML pages begin with the same basic structure as follows:
- <HTML>
- <HEAD>
- <TITLE> The title of the page </TITLE>
- </HEAD>
- <BODY>
- The body of the page
- </BODY>
- </HTML>
The <HTML> and </HTML> tags tell the browser that the page contains HTML codes between them.
The <HEAD> and </HEAD> tags contain the header information for the page. One example of header information is the title of the page, identified between the <TITLE> and </TITLE> tags.
The <BODY> and </BODY> tags contain the whole body of the page that will be displayed by the web browser.
These tags form the basis of all web pages, and is all you NEED to know to create a web page. However, pages can be made to look more interesting, by using additional tags as outlined below.
Basic Tags
Here we will be looking into some more HTML tags to help enhance the appearance of your web pages. They are divided into a few categories to help you find what you need.
Advanced HTML Guide
After completing our 'Creating a Web Page' Tutorial you should have a firm knowledge of HTML. Thats all well and good for simple page design but now you need to know how the pros do it. This guide is split up into
four parts which will give you the confidence to write quality pages and get the most out of HTML.
- Planning Your Navigation - A how to on creating good navigation for your web site.
- Page Design Using Tables - Learn how to create exciting pages using tables.
- Image Slicing - The advantages of image slicing and how to make up image maps using individual images.
- Controling Layout With Graphics - How to use graphics to better present your pages.
