Introduction to HTML5

Introduction to HTML5

By the end of this lesson you will understand what HTML is, how a web page is built from tags, and you will write your first heading and paragraph.

What is HTML?

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the language of web pages. It does not "program" anything - it describes structure: this is a heading, this is a paragraph, this is an image. Every website you visit, from a bank to a news site, is built on HTML.

Tags and elements

HTML is made of tags written in angle brackets. Most come in pairs - an opening tag and a closing tag with a slash:

<h1>Kalomo Hardware</h1>
<p>We sell tools, paint and building supplies.</p>

Here <h1> means "biggest heading" and <p> means "paragraph". The text between the tags is the content. A tag plus its content is called an element.

You need no special software

HTML is just text. Write it in Notepad (or VS Code), save the file with a .html ending, and open it in any web browser like Chrome. The browser reads your tags and shows the page.

Your first page

<h1>Welcome to my page</h1>
<p>My name is Chanda and I am learning web development.</p>
<h2>About Kalomo</h2>
<p>Kalomo is a town in the Southern Province of Zambia.</p>

Save as index.html and double-click it - your page opens in the browser.

Try It Yourself

1. Create index.html with one h1 title and two paragraphs about yourself.
2. Add an h2 subheading and a paragraph under it.
3. Open it in a browser and refresh after each change.

Key Terms

• HTML - the markup language that structures web pages.
• Tag - an instruction in angle brackets, usually in a pair.
• Element - an opening tag, content, and closing tag together.
• Browser - the program that reads HTML and displays the page.

Summary

HTML describes the structure of a page using paired tags. With nothing more than a text editor and a browser you can already build and view a simple web page.

Free Resources

• MDN - Introduction to HTML
• W3Schools - HTML Introduction