The HTML class assumes that you have some knowledge of computers, web pages, and the internet. This pre-work is designed to provide you with the resources and information you might not have. I recommend that you review the articles listed in this document to be sure that you know exactly what you need to know to start learning HTML and building web pages from scratch.
What Can You Do with HTML?
In general, HTML is the language that is used to write web pages. If you want to build web pages, the best place to start is by learning HTML. This article explains some of the things you can do with HTML and why you would want to learn HTML rather than simply building a web page in a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web editor.
What is a Tag and What is an Element?
When you write HTML, you write both plain text in English (or whatever language your website is written in) and characters surrounded by < and >. These are called tags or elements. This article explains what an HTML tag is and what an HTML element is, and what the difference is between these two terms.
HTML and Web Design Terms to Know
There are many jargon terms that are used in web design. This glossary will help you learn the definition of terms that might be unfamiliar to you as you learn HTML and web design.
HTML Versions
There are several versions of HTML in use on the web. The most current version of HTML is HTML5. This class covers HTML5 and HTML 4.01
Building a Web Page for the Totally Lost
This five-page tutorial will take you through the steps to building a web page in very simple terms. You will be taught how to find a text editor on your machine, how to write a simple web page in that text editor, how to save it as an HTML document, and how to view the document in a web browser.
Be aware that all of this is covered in the HTML class, but this takes you through the steps in very minute detail. It is a useful tutorial for those readers who find the class too fast moving at first.
Internet for Beginners
In order to build web pages with HTML, you need to have an understanding of the internet. Paul Gil's website “Internet for Beginners” on About.com will help you learn more about the internet in general.
Free HTML Class
Once you understand the terms and information referenced on this page, you are ready to take the free HTML class from About.com. This class will teach you many things:
- The differences between HTML 4, HTML5, and XHTML
- Writing a basic web page
- Getting that page to display on the internet
- Paragraphs, headings, and textual emphasis
- Simple styles for dressing up your web pages
- Quotations, lines, and special characters
- Lists
- Images
- Links
- Tables
- Frames
- Forms
- Advanced HTML5 APIs
If you haven't signed up yet, now is the time.
