HTML Explained: Tips for Self-Starters

If you’re like me (stubborn), you’ve probably been dodging HTML for many years. All that code mushed together… it’s distressing to look at! But here’s the thing: HTML is your friend. He might be ugly, but he’s a good guy to have on your side.

Once you get a basic understanding of how HTML works, the gibberish starts to make sense. And that’s when you’ll realize how easy it is to create web pages for your own business without having to 1. pay a designer thousands of dollars, or 2. purchase one of those expensive web design programs.

Let’s start with a general explanation. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. https://visualmodo.com/ It’s the basis for every single design element you see on a web page: layout, copy, image placement, links, music, animation, etc. People who design their sites using fancy web page creators with buttons and copy/paste features are merely controlling the HTML code via the program’s graphic overlay. Underneath it all, the code’s still there in its pure form. You can see it if you go to a webpage and then click View>Source from the top menu.

Easy Web Page Creation

You can create a professional-looking web page using HTML and the bare minimum of tools: a text program (such as Notepad) to write and save files in, a Web browser to view the files, and a photo-editing program such as Photoshop.

Ever visit a webpage and then click View>Source so you can stare at the “guts” and try to make sense of it? The text program that opens that page is the same one you’ll use to create your own web page from scratch. Keep in mind, a text program is NOT the same as a word-processing program, such as Microsoft Word. If you use Word, you may accidentally save your file as a .DOC, and in doin