What Is HTML?
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the foundational language used to create web pages. It’s an essential tool for anyone learning web development.
Using HTML, you can define the structure and content of a webpage—such as text, images, links, and lists. Web browsers read this HTML code and render it as the page you see.
HTML is known for its simplicity, making it a great place to start if you're new to coding. It's both easy to learn and fun to use.
Prerequisites
You don’t need any prior knowledge of HTML to get started—this course is designed for complete beginners. All you need is a basic familiarity with using a computer.
You should be comfortable with everyday tasks like browsing files, managing folders, and installing simple software when needed.
Introduction to HTML
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the language used to define the structure and meaning of content on a web page.
What we see in a web browser—such as Chrome, Safari, or Firefox—is called a web page. The content shown in these browsers, including text, images, links, and input fields, is created using HTML.
In other words, HTML is responsible for organizing and structuring everything that appears on a web page. It tells the browser how to display the content and how different elements relate to each other.
Because of this, HTML is the fundamental language used to build and structure content for the web.
Note:
While XML can also be rendered in a browser, it isn't typically used to present meaningful content to users. For that reason, we won’t be covering XML in this course.
HTML Is a Markup Language
HTML is called a markup language because it uses markup to structure and describe the content that appears in a web browser. Markup refers to the use of symbols or tags to indicate the structure or meaning of content. For example, you can use markup to show which parts of a page are headings, paragraphs, images, or links.
In HTML, markup is used to define the elements that make up a web page—such as text, images, lists, and hyperlinks. These elements are written using special tags that tell the browser how to display the content.
HTML Uses Elements to Structure Content
HTML markup consists of a wide variety of predefined elements. These elements are the building blocks of a web page—they define the structure and meaning of the content that appears in a browser.
Each element serves a specific purpose. For example, there are elements designed for headings, others for paragraphs, lists, links, and more. You use these elements to organize and label your content in a way that the browser understands.
The process of using these elements, along with HTML syntax, to create structured content is what we call "marking up with HTML."
How Do You Mark Up Content with HTML?
HTML markup is written inside an HTML document. This document is simply a file with the .html extension.
To create a web page, you write HTML elements in this file. When doing so, you need to follow the standard structure and syntax rules defined or recommended by the HTML language.
Let’s take a look at an example of content marked up with HTML elements.
<!DOCTYPE html>: Declares the document type, helping the browser render the page using the latest web standards.<html>: The root element of an HTML document. All other elements must be nested inside it.<head>: Contains metadata and header information about the document. This section can link external stylesheets, JavaScript files, and more.<meta charset="UTF-8">: Specifies the character encoding. UTF-8 is commonly used to support a wide range of characters, including non-English ones.<title>: Defines the title of the page. This title appears in the browser tab and search engine results.<body>: Contains the main content of the page that is visible to users. It can include text, images, links, tables, forms, and other elements.
When you create an HTML document with this basic structure, the browser can correctly interpret it and display the content as a web page.
HTML includes a wide variety of elements.
These elements—such as text, images, links, and input fields—are the building blocks of a web page.
Each element follows predefined rules and recommended syntax set by the HTML specification (commonly referred to as "HTML grammar").
When marking up content, you must use these structures and conventions to ensure your code is valid and properly rendered.
The specification also defines how elements should be organized and nested within a document, so understanding the correct structure is essential.
HTML Has a Wide Range of Elements, Syntax, and Conventions
Most websites you see today include a variety of content—text, lists, images, links, input fields, videos, and more. All of these are structured using HTML elements. In this way, HTML offers a rich set of elements to represent different types of web content.
Learning HTML means learning how to use these elements along with the correct syntax and formatting rules.
However, you can’t mark up content arbitrarily.
HTML elements must be written according to the rules and recommended practices defined by the HTML specification.
When you use HTML elements to mark up content like text, images, links, or lists, the browser interprets the code and displays it as a web page. There are many browsers—such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and others. Now imagine what would happen if each browser interpreted the same HTML differently—or couldn’t interpret it at all.
This inconsistency would create problems not only for web developers but also for users and applications that interact with the web. To prevent this, a standard specification is maintained and recommended for consistent implementation.
The syntax, structure, and semantics of HTML were initially managed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), founded by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web. Since 2019, however, this role has been taken over by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), a collaboration between major organizations like Apple, Mozilla, Google, and Microsoft.
Continuous Updates to the HTML Standard
Since its invention in 1989, HTML has gone through continuous updates and improvements.
The first official version, HTML 1.0, was released in 1991. In 2014, HTML5.0 was published, introducing significant enhancements to support modern web development.
Today, HTML5 continues to evolve, and the latest versions of HTML5 are widely adopted as the global standard for web markup.
This standard is formally referred to as the HTML *specification*.
HTML elements, along with their syntax and formatting rules, may be added, modified, or removed over time as the HTML specification evolves.
Did you know?
All examples and lessons on codingCourses are based on the latest HTML5 specification.