If you’re a newbie and don’t know what HTML is, then you’re missing out. You don’t need to know it inside out, but if you’re doing anything online you need to know what it is and how to use it at a basic level.
So, what is HTML?
Well, it stands for “Hyper-Text Markup Language. Are you any wiser?
No?
Don’t worry. All it means is that by putting some code around the text on a webpage, you can alter that text to look differently or act differently. So, for example, to make the headline of a page stand out on a page and be recognised as a headline instead of just a normal sentence, you would use HTML to make it happen. Same thing if you want certain text to be recognised as a link. HTML is the code that you put at either side of the text, that turns it into a clickable link.
No matter what you want your text to do (or your images), HTML is the language or ‘computer code‘ that makes it happen.
And there’s not really that much to it. It simply means making use of the chevrons ( the ‘lesser than’ and ‘more than’ brackets) on your keyboard to identify where the HTML code should start and finish.
<start html> some text here </end html>
Now, whichever piece of HTML code you’ve put in those chevrons determines what the text will look like when someone is looking at it on your website. All you need to remember is to start it and end it correctly. To end it, you’ll notice you need to include a forward slash. Once you know the HTML basics, all you then need to do is find a list of HTML codes, which you can use in creating your website.
There are far too many HTML codes to list in this newbies guide, but you can check out the really detailed list over at Web-Source.net For now, let me give you the one that you are probably going to use the most and that is the piece of code that allows a viewer to click a certain phrase or word in your text and be taken wherever you want them to go. : )
I suggest you simply copy this piece of code, and then paste it wherever you want to use it. All you have to do is change the text (the destination) within the chevron symbols.
<a href=”http://this is the domain page you want them to go to.com/”> This is the text your visitor will see.</a>
Remove the spaces between the chevron symbol at the end of the domain name and the text your visitor will see. I have put the space in there to prevent the HTML from altering the text and actually making it a link.
By far the quickest way to learn HTML is to use a free HTML editor. You simply type your text in as normal, then click whichever button to apply your chosen effect. Once you’ve done that, check out the ‘source’ view and you will be able to see the HTML code that has been used to apply that effect. You can see the HTML code used for the phrase “learn HTML” below.
And you can see how I put this post together by watching the video below.
And that’s really all there is to understanding the basics of HTML. To get to grips with it, you just need to start taking notice of it and before long you’ll be able to edit your own HTML just like a pro. Do remember to shoot us a mail if you have any questions.
