Learn HTML: Completely Free Tutorial for Beginners and Developers
Welcome to your completely free tutorial on learning HTML from basic to
advanced. This tutorial will guide you through the fundamental basics of HTML,
from understanding its purpose to building your very first webpage. By the end,
you'll have a strong foundation to start your journey in web development or web
design.
Before writing any code, it's necessary to understand what HTML is and why it's
the bedrock of every single website you visit online, irrespective of the
programming language used.
What is HTML?
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is not a programming language,
but a markup language used to create the structure and content of a webpage.
HyperText: Refers to the "links" that connect web pages, allowing you to
navigate the internet.
Markup Language: Refers to the use of "tags" (like <h1> or <p>) to
define the layout and elements of your content.
HTML is the skeleton of the page that gives every website its shape.
Read more about HTML
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Why is Learning HTML Essential?
Learning HTML is the first and most critical skill for anyone interested in making
a career in web development or Designing.
Build Websites: It is the fundamental building block of all websites. You
can't build a house without a foundation; similarly, you can't build a
website without HTML.
Launch a Web Development or Design Career: A deep understanding
of HTML is essential for roles such as Front-End Developer, Web
Designer, Full-Stack Developer, and even Email Developer.
To Understand Other Languages: Knowing HTML makes it significantly
easier to learn its companion technologies: CSS (for styling)
and JavaScript (for functionality).
Learn to Build Your First HTML Page
Let's move from theory to practice. Here's how to create and view your very first
webpage.
What You Need
A Text Editor: Any simple text editor will work (e.g., Notepad on
Windows, TextEdit on Mac, or more advanced editors like VS Code).
A Web Browser: Google Chrome, Firefox, or any modern browser to view
your page.
Basic HTML Document Example
Open your text editor.
Copy and paste the code below into the editor.
Save the file with a .html extension, for example: my.html.
To see your work, find the file on your computer and double-click it. It will
open in your default web browser.
Try Our Free Online HTML Editor
Elements of Basic HTML Structure
Let's understand what each tag in that example does.
<!DOCTYPE html>
This declaration defines that the document is an HTML5 document. It must
always be the very first line of your code.
<html>...</html>
This is the root element of the page. All other elements are nested inside it.
<head>...</head>
The <head> section contains meta-information that isn't displayed directly on
the page, like the page title or links to CSS stylesheets.
<title>...</title>
The <title> tag sets the title of the webpage. This is what you see in the browser
tab and what search engines use as the main title in search results.
<body>...</body>
The <body> tag contains all the visible content of your webpage—headings,
paragraphs, images, links, etc.
Essential HTML Elements (Tags)
Elements are the building blocks of HTML. Here are the most common ones you'll
use every day.
Headings: <h1> to <h6>
HTML provides six levels of headings. <h1> is the most important (the main title
of your content), while <h6> is the least.
<h1>Main Title</h1> <h2>A Sub-heading</h2>
Paragraphs: <p>
The <p> tag defines a paragraph of text. Browsers automatically add space
before and after each paragraph.
<p>This is a paragraph of text. You can write multiple sentences here.</p>
Links: <a>
The <a> (or anchor) tag creates a hyperlink. The href attribute specifies the URL
to which the link points.
<a href="https://www.google.com">Click here to visit Google</a>
Comments: <!-- ... -->
You can add comments to your code to leave notes for yourself or others. The
browser ignores comments.
<!--This is a comment-->
Learn more about HTML comments
Semantic HTML
As you advance, use semantic elements like <header>, <footer>, <nav>, and
<article> to add meaning to your content when designing or developing a web
page. This improves both accessibility and SEO.
Learn more about HTML Basic Tags
HTML Tools and Resources
Online HTML Editor: To practice without setting up files, you can use an
online editor that shows you a live preview of your code almost instantly. –
Try Our Free Online HTML Editor
Further Practice: Once you are comfortable, test your knowledge with
resources like an HTML Cheat Sheet, Interview Questions,
and Quizzes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about HTML
Q1: Is HTML a programming language?
No, HTML is a markup language. It structures content but lacks the logic and
computational functions of a programming language.
Q2: What is the latest version of HTML?
The latest major version is HTML5, which introduced many modern features like
<video>, <audio>, and semantic elements.
Q3: What is the difference between <head> and <header>?
The <head> section is for browser and SEO metadata (such as the <title>) that
is not visible on the page. The <header> is a semantic element used inside the
<body> to define the introductory content or navigation links that are visible on
the page.
Q4: How do you save an HTML file?
In your text editor, go to "File" -> "Save As" and save your document with a
name followed by the .html extension (e.g., index.html).
HTML tags are the fundamental elements of HTML used for defining the
structure of the document. These are letters or words enclosed by angle brackets
(< and >).
Usually, most of the HTML tags contain an opening and a closing tag. Each tag
has a different meaning, and the browser reads the tags and displays the
contents enclosed by them accordingly.
For example, if we wrap any text in the paragraph (<p></p>) tag, the browser
displays it as a separate paragraph. In this tutorial, we will discuss all the basic
tags in HTML.
Heading Tags
Heading tags are used to define headings of documents. You can use different
sizes for your headings. HTML also has six levels of headings, which use the
elements <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, and <h6>. While displaying any
heading, the browser adds one line before and one line after that heading.
Example
Following HTML code demonstrates various levels of headings:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Heading Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is heading 1</h1>
<h2>This is heading 2</h2>
<h3>This is heading 3</h3>
<h4>This is heading 4</h4>
<h5>This is heading 5</h5>
<h6>This is heading 6</h6>
</body>
</html>
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Paragraph Tag
The <p> tag offers a way to structure your text into different paragraphs. Each
paragraph of text should go in between an opening <p> and a closing </p> tag.
Example
The following example demonstrates the use of paragraph (<p>) tag, here we
are defining 3 paragraphs −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Paragraph Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Here is a first paragraph of text.</p>
<p>Here is a second paragraph of text.</p>
<p>Here is a third paragraph of text.</p>
</body>
</html>
Line Break Tag
The <br> tag is used to insert a line break in the text. It forces the content after
it to appear on the next line. This tag is used whenever you want the text to
break into a new line without starting a new paragraph.
Note: The <br> tag is an empty tag and does not need a closing tag.
Example
The following example demonstrates the use of break (<br>) tag −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Line Break Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Hello<br>You delivered your assignment on
time.<br>Thanks<br>Mahnaz</p>
</body>
</html>
Center Tag
In HTML, the alignment should be handled using CSS rather than deprecated
tags. The <center> tag, previously used to align content to the center of a web
page, is deprecated in HTML5. You can use the text-align: center; property of
CSS to center text or inline elements.
Example
The following example demonstrates how to center a paragraph using CSS:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Centering Content Example</title>
<style>
.center-text {
text-align: center;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>This text is not in the center.</p>
<p class="center-text">This text is in the center.</p>
</body>
</html>
Horizonal Rule Tag
The <hr> tag is used to insert a horizontal line across the page. It is commonly
used to separate sections of content visually.
Note: Like <br> tag, the <hr> tag is also an empty tag and does not need a
closing tag.
Example
The following example draws a horizontal line between two paragraphs −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Horizontal Line Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>This is paragraph one and should be on top.</p>
<hr>
<p>This is paragraph two and should be at bottom.</p>
</body>
</html>
On executing the above example, you can see a straight line dividing the two
paragraphs.
The <hr /> tag is an example of the empty element, where you do not need
opening and closing tags, as there is nothing to go in between them.
The <hr /> element has a space between the characters hr and the forward
slash. If you omit this space, older browsers will have trouble rendering the
horizontal line, while if you miss the forward slash character and just use <hr>,
it is not valid in XHTML.
Preserve Formatting Tag
The <pre> tag is used to preserve the formatting. Whenever you want to display
content on the webpage exactly in the same format as it was written in the HTML
document, you can use the <pre> tag. It preserves the formatting of source
code, including line breaks and indentation.
Example
The following example demonstrates the use of the <pre> tag. Here, we are
displaying some code that should keep the formatting exactly the same as it is
written inside the <pre> tag −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Preserve Formatting Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<pre>
function testFunction( strText ){
alert (strText)
}
</pre>
</body>
</html>
function testFunction( strText ){
alert (strText)
}
Non-breaking Spaces
Non-breaking spaces prevent an automatic line break and are displayed using
the entity.
Suppose if you want to use the phrase "12 Angry Men." Here, you would not
want a browser to split the "12, Angry" and "Men" across two lines −
An example of this technique appears in the movie "12 Angry Men."
In cases, where you do not want the client browser to break text, you should use
a nonbreaking space entity instead of a normal space. For example,
when coding the "12 Angry Men" in a paragraph, you should use something
similar to the following code −
Example
The following example demonstrates the use of entity −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Nonbreaking Spaces Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>An example of this technique appears in the movie "12 Angry Men."</p>
<p>An example of this technique appears in the movie
"12 Angry Men."</p>
</body>
</html>
On executing the above example, it will display the sentence: An example of
this technique appears in the movie "12 Angry Men." twice. Since we have
added 3 " " characters between 12 and men, the second time, you can observe
three spaces.
Listing Tags
The <ul> and <ol> tags create the unordered and ordered listings, and to
display list items, the <li> tag is used.
Example
The following example demonstrates the use of listing tags −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Listing Tags Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Unordered list</h2>
<ul>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
<li>Item 3</li>
</ul>
<h2>Ordered list</h2>
<ul>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
<li>Item 3</li>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
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