To make a long story short, HTML was invented in 1990 by a scientist called Tim Berners-Lee. The purpose was to make it easier for scientists at different universities to gain access to each other's research documents. The project became a bigger success than Tim Berners-Lee had ever imagined. By inventing HTML he laid the foundation for the web as we know it today.
HTML is a language, which makes it possible to present information (e.g. scientific research) on the Internet. What you see when you view a page on the Internet is your browser's interpretation of HTML. To see the HTML code of a page on the Internet, simply click "View" in the top menu of your browser and choose "Source".
If you want to make websites, there is no way around HTML. Even if you're using a program to create websites, such as Dreamweaver, a basic knowledge of HTML can make life a lot simpler and your website a lot better. The good news is that HTML is easy to learn and use. In just two lessons from now you will have learned how to make your first website.
HTML is used to make websites. It is as simple as that!
HTML is an abbreviation of "HyperText Mark-up Language" - which is already more than you need to know at this stage. However, for the sake of good order, let us explain in greater detail. Hyper is the opposite of linear. In the good old days - when a mouse was something the cat chased - computer programs ran linearly: when the program had executed one action it went to the next line and after that, the next line and so on. But HTML is different - you can go wherever you want and whenever you want. For example, it is not necessary to visit MSN.com before you visit HTML.net.
Text is self-explanatory. Mark-up is what you do with the text. You are marking up the text the same way you do in a text editing program with headings, bullets and bold text and so on. Language is what HTML is. It uses many English words.There are 4 basic tags that make up a web page.
Every HTML page starts with a DOCTYPE
Every page also includes an html tag.
Next comes the head tag which includes the title tag, meta tag and sometimes a link to an external style sheet. Notice how the title will be shown in the upper left corner of your browser. The title is especially important because it is used by search engines (such as Google) to index your website and is shown in the search results.
The final tag is the body tag. In the body section, you write the actual content of the page. You already know some of the most important elements:
p is used for paragraphs
em is used for emphasis
strong is used for bold
h1 is used for a heading
h2 is used for a sub heading
h3 is used for a sub-sub head
Remember, the only way to learn HTML is by trial and error. But don't worry, there is no way you can destroy your computer or the Internet. So keep experimenting - that is the best way to gain experience.
Nobody becomes a good website creator by learning the examples in this class. What you get in this class is simply a basic understanding of the building blocks - to become good you must use the building blocks in new and creative ways.
So, get out in the deep water and stand on your own two feet... Okay, maybe not. But give it a go and experiment with what you have learned so far. Your assignment before we start class tonight is to make a web page look just like this one. Call it learning.htm. If you see a heading, make a heading, if you see italics or bold text, make it italics or bold….you will find the content for this page on the website under the Class 3 heading.