Learn HTML / CSS / XML
By Jennifer Kyrnin, About.com Guide
What is HTML?
HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is the basic building block of a Web page. These articles start with the basics of HTML. Even if you have very little experience with computers, if you're willing to take the time, you can learn HTML and start building your own Web pages.
- Building a Web Page for the Totally Lost
- What is HTML?
- 8 Cheap and Easy Ways to Learn HTML
- How to Build a Basic Web Page
HTML Tutorial
If you want to learn HTML, you can take an online course or follow the steps in this tutorial to learn HTML.
- Write HTML in Windows Notepad
- Write HTML in Macintosh TextEdit
- Basic HTML Tags
- HTML Tags for Text
- How to Add Headings, Bold, and Italics in HTML
- Using HTML to Make Lists
- Linking to Other Pages
- Adding Images to Web Pages with HTML
- Uploading Your Web Pages to the Internet
- Free HTML Course
HTML Tag Library
HTML tags are the basics of HTML. Once you understand how HTML works, you'll want to know more about the tags and elements that you can use in your Web pages. The About.com HTML Tag Library provides information about HTML 4.01 tags and XHTML 1 elements as well as tags outside the specification. The HTML attributes covers all the attributes you can use in the tags. And the HTML codes let you put special characters into your Web pages.
Reviews of HTML Editors
While many people use text editors to write their HTML, there are a lot of great software programs out there to help you write HTML.
- Choose an HTML Editor
- Before You Buy an HTML Editor
- Business Case for Editor Types (WYSIWYG vs. Text)
- The Best Text Editors for Windows
- The Best Text Editors for Macintosh
What is CSS?
CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, lets Web designers affect the look and feel of their Web pages. CSS is the way that you implement most design features in your Web pages. These articles explain the basics of CSS and how you can start learning to add style to your Web pages.
CSS Tutorial
There is a free short course on learning CSS. This course takes you through the basics of CSS in 5 days. But if you want to go deeper into CSS or at a faster or slower pace, use this tutorial to walk through all the elements of Cascading Style Sheets.
- Learn CSS in 5 Days - Free Class
- The Basics of CSS
- CSS Syntax
- How to Add Styles to Web Pages
- Modify Fonts with CSS
- Adjust Text with CSS
- The CSS Box Model
- Backgrounds and CSS
- CSS and Lists
- CSS Positioning and Layout
- Styling Tables, Frames, and Forms
- Advanced CSS Topics
- More CSS Help
Style Properties
Style properties are like tags in HTML. They are what make CSS do what it does. Once you understand how to put CSS in your documents, then you can start learning the many different properties in CSS versions 1, 2, and 3.
What is XML?
XML, or eXtensible Markup Language, is a way to bring your HTML skills to a whole new level. By learning XML you learn how markup languages work. These articles explain the basics of XML and take you through why you might want to learn more about the eXtensible Markup Language.
XML Tutorial
The free XML class teaches you all about XML in a weekly email course over ten weeks. Or you can go through the articles here to learn more about XML at your own pace.
- What is a DTD or Document Type Definition?
- How do you use DTDs in Markup
- XML Glossary
- More XML Tutorials
XML Specifications
XML specifications are how XML is implemented in the real world. One XML specification you might recognize is XHTML. This is HTML re-written to be XML compliant. But there are also a lot of other specifications that you may have seen that are actually XML.