One of the best things about HTML is that it requires very little to start writing it. In fact, most people who have a computer already have all they need to write HTML and start building web pages.
You can write HTML on any computer that has a text editor. This includes Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers as well as smartphones and tablets.
What You Need is a Text Editor
But before you go out and open Word or Pages or some other word processor, you should be aware that these aren't technically text editors. Computers see text as separate from the styled (with fonts, colors, etc.) text that is written in word processors.
Here are some text editors you can use to write HTML:
- Windows: Notepad (pre-installed) or Best Free Text Editors for Windows
- Macintosh: TextEdit (pre-installed on Mac OSX) or Best Free Text Editors for Windows
- Linux: Emacs or vi (pre-installed on most Linux distributions) or Best Linux and UNIX Text Editors
- iOS and Android: Both of these operating systems come with text editors pre-installed, or you can look for an HTML editor app for your device.
What Else Do You Need?
The only other thing you need is a web browser. You use your web browser to view your HTML files that you've saved to your hard drive. In fact, many designers do not get web hosting until their entire site is built on their hard drive and they are confident that it works.
And like text editors, most operating systems come with them automatically. It doesn't matter which browser you use, just so long as you know how to use one so that you can test your HTML files.
Everything Else Can Wait
While there are lots of other things you should have to build and maintain a website, when you're learning HTML, all you need is a text editor and a web browser.
