HTML Tutorial for Beginners
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the code used to create web pages. When you create an HTML page, you use HTML tags to give your document a set of instructions to create the structure for your content. You do not need any special tools to begin practicing the language, as a plain text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, will suffice.
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Using HTML Tags
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Every piece of your web page data is encompassed between an opening tag and closed with its corresponding element (for example, <body></body>). Notice the "/" backslash in the closing tag, as this is what distinguishes itself from the opening version. This rule is basic, yet important because many problems with web pages can usually be attributed to a missing end tag.
Common HTML Tags
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One of the most common tags you will use over and over is the "<p>" paragraph tag. This tag holds much of your material, such as introductions and paragraphs. Using the paragraph tag is simply done by adding the opening "<p>" tag, then adding the content, and finally closing the corresponding tag after the entry. For example: <p>Hello World! This is my first introduction to HTML.</p>
Another common tag are the "<h1>" headings. These elements hold your section headers, and set them apart from the rest of the text by making the font larger and in bold. You can have more than one size header in your document, with the largest being a "<h1>" tag containing your page's name, a "<h2>" tag displaying a section name and, possibly, a "<h3>" tag that names a subsection. As with all HTML, close each corresponding header with the appropriate tag. For example: <h1>Page Name</h1> <h2>Main Section</h2> <h3>Subsection One</h3>
A third tag you will likely need is the "<li>" list tag. This tag displays your list content in either bullet or number form. A bullet list is entered using the "<ul>" unordered list tag, and a numbered list requires the "<ol>" ordered list tag. For example, to create a numbered list type: <ol><li>Number one</li><li>Number two</li><li>Number three</li></ol> -
HTML Links
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Almost every page includes some form of a link, such as connecting two pages together or displaying an image. Along with the basic set of HTML tags, anchor tags are essential for using HTML. They automatically distinguish themselves by appearing in blue, with an underline underneath the link.
To begin, use the "<a>" anchor tag to link two Web pages together. When the user clicks the designated line of text, the Web browser calls up the named page, and delivers the user to the intended destination. To create this connection, enter the anchor tag, tell it where to go by entering the full URL address and type in the line of text naming the link. Be sure to close your tag at the end. For example, to link to the eHow website enter: <a href="http://www.ehow.com">eHow</a>
Creating links to images is slightly different in that you use an "<img>" image tag in conjunction with the anchor tag. Enter the anchor tag first, and then follow it with the location of your graphic. Make sure to house your HTML and image documents in the same file to keep the link simple. For example, to link an image named "image.jpg" enter the following: <a href="http://www.theurl.com"><img src="image.jpg"></a>
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