HTML Introduction

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard markup language for creating web pages and web applications. It provides the structure and semantic meaning for web content, working alongside CSS for presentation and JavaScript for functionality.

What is HTML?

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is the backbone of all web pages, defining the structure and content that browsers display to users. HTML is not a programming language—it is a markup language that uses tags to annotate text, images, and other content for display in a web browser.

HTML was created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991 and has evolved through multiple versions. The current standard, HTML5 (finalized in 2014), introduced semantic elements, multimedia support without plugins, canvas for graphics, and many APIs for modern web applications.

Every webpage you visit, from simple blogs to complex applications like Gmail or Facebook, uses HTML as its foundation. Browsers parse HTML documents and render them into the visual, interactive experiences users see and interact with.

Basic HTML Document Structure

Every HTML document follows a standard hierarchical structure. At the top level, the <!DOCTYPE html> declaration tells the browser this is an HTML5 document. This is followed by the <html> element, which wraps the entire document and should include a lang attribute specifying the document language.

Inside the html element, there are two main sections: the <head> and the <body>. The head contains metadata about the document—information for browsers and search engines that is not displayed on the page itself. The body contains all the visible content users see and interact with.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Complete HTML Document</title>
  <meta name="description" content="A properly structured HTML5 document">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <h1>My Website</h1>
    <nav>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="/">Home</a></li>
        <li><a href="/about">About</a></li>
        <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
  </header>
  
  <main>
    <article>
      <h2>Welcome</h2>
      <p>This is the main content of the page.</p>
    </article>
  </main>
  
  <footer>
    <p>&copy; 2026 My Website. All rights reserved.</p>
  </footer>
</body>
</html>