How to Use Simple HTML Format
You can use hypertext markup language, or HTML, to format text for the Web. While there are hundreds of possible HTML commands, only a few simple commands are necessary to add common formatting to your work. These simple commands also follow certain rules, making them easy to use. Many websites will allow you to use these commands when filling out forms and you can use them for writing simple websites of your own.
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Instructions
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Write any text you plan to format with HTML in Textpad or Notepad, or in fields provided on websites. Avoid Microsoft Word, because it will add its own format to your text, making it harder for you to change the code.
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Use HTML code by placing tags, which instruct computers to display text in certain ways. A tag is a word or string of letters surrounded by angle brackets (<>). An opening tag is placed at the beginning of formatted text. A closing tag, which is placed at the end, differs because a slash mark is placed before the actual command.
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Emphasize headlines by using the command "h1" inside your opening and closing tags. You can also create subheads by using "h2."
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Format your text as bold by using "b" as a command. You can also use "i" for italic.
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Create smaller and bigger versions of your text by using "small" and "big," respectively, as tags.
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Insert an open tag containing the letters "br" when you wish to add a line break or start a new line. Without adding this command, your text will not have any line breaks and will display your text as one long line, depending on the computer interpreting the HTML.
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Tips & Warnings
Each HTML command must have an opening and a closing, or computers will not be able to display even simple formatting properly.
To write your own document formatted with HTML, you will need to use a program such as Notepad or Textedit that will allow you to work with plain text. You will also need to save your document as an HTML file, rather than a text file. You can simply change the extension on your file so it reads "documentname.html" rather than "documentname.txt."
There are hundreds of different options for HTML formatting. For more complex commands, consult the list maintained by the W3C, the consortium that maintains standards for the Web (see Resources below).
