HTML is where web pages begin. Here is what you need to make your first one.
Direct answer
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) describes the structure of a web page using tags such as headings, paragraphs, links and images. To start, open a text editor, write a few tags, save the file as index.html and open it in your browser. You can build a simple page in ten minutes.
Your first page
Copy this into a file called index.html:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>My first page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello, world</h1>
<p>This is my first web page.</p>
<a href="https://example.com">A link</a>
</body>
</html>
Open it in your browser. You've made a web page.
The tags you'll use most
| Tag | Use |
|---|---|
<h1> to <h6> | Headings, from largest to smallest |
<p> | A paragraph |
<a href="..."> | A link |
<img src="..." alt="..."> | An image, with a description |
<ul> and <li> | A bulleted list |
<div> and <section> | Groups of content |
How a page is structured
<head>holds information about the page, like its title.<body>holds what people see.- Tags usually come in pairs: an opening tag and a closing tag.
HTML vs CSS
HTML builds the content. CSS styles it. Add colours and fonts in a <style> block or a separate file. See CSS tutorial for beginners.
Good habits from day one
- Always add
alttext to images. - Use headings in order.
- Indent your code so it's readable.
- Save and refresh often.
Free practice
You can learn with just a browser. For a guided path with a live page, see how to learn HTML and CSS.
Where Teyro fits
Teyro's HTML & CSS for Beginners course has you build a personal page, style it and publish it on the internet for free, in ten-minute lessons. It is free to start.
The bottom line
Write a page, break it, fix it. That's how HTML is learned.
