1. What is HTML? A Beginner’s Guide to the Web’s Building Blocks

Hey there!

As you step into the world of web development, you’ll quickly come across a fundamental term: HTML. Whether you’re designing a personal blog or building a powerful web app, HTML is where it all begins. It’s not just important—it’s essential. Without it, the web as we know it wouldn’t exist.

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, and it forms the backbone of every web page on the internet. It tells the browser what content to display and how to organize it on the screen.

New to Web Development
If you’re brand new to coding or the web, I highly recommend checking out my earlier posts which you need to know before starting Web Development:
Common Things you should know to start Web Development

It breaks down the structure of websites and how different technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript work together. Once you understand that, this guide on HTML will make a lot more sense.

What Exactly is HTML?

HTML is a markup language, not a programming language. That means it doesn’t perform logic or calculations—it marks up content to give it structure and meaning.

Think of HTML like the blueprint of a building. Just as blueprints show where walls, doors, and windows go, HTML shows browsers where to place headings, paragraphs, images, links, and other elements on a web page.

With HTML, you’re simply answering the question:

“What is this content, and where does it go on the page?”

Why Is HTML So Important?

Every web page you’ve ever visited—this one included—uses HTML. It plays a vital role in:

Organizing content into readable sections
Embedding media like images and videos
Creating links between pages and sites
Accepting user input through forms
Working with CSS and JavaScript for a complete web experience

Without HTML, browsers would have no idea how to render text, images, or anything else.

The Structure of an HTML Document

Here’s what a simple HTML page looks like:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My First Page</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
    <p>This is a paragraph of text.</p>
  </body>
</html>

Let’s Break It Down:

Tag	What it does
`<!DOCTYPE html>`	Tells the browser to use HTML5
`<html>`	The root element of the web page
`<head>`	Contains metadata (like the title)
`<title>`	Sets the title of the browser tab
`<body>`	Holds all the visible content
`<h1>`	A heading—used for main titles
`<p>`	A paragraph of text

Core HTML Tags Every Beginner Should Know

Headings

HTML provides 6 levels of headings, from <h1> to <h6>:

<h1>Main Heading</h1>
<h2>Subheading</h2>
<h3>Smaller Subheading</h3>

Use them to define the structure of your page. Only one <h1> should be used per page!

Paragraphs and Line Breaks

<p>This is a paragraph of text.</p> // This is paragraph
<br> // Used for Line break
<p>This is another paragraph after a line break.</p>

Links

<a href="https://example.com">Visit Example</a>

The href attribute tells the browser where the link should go.

Images

<img src="dog.jpg" alt="A cute dog">

src: the path to your image
alt: describes the image for screen readers or if it doesn’t load

Lists

Unordered (bullets):

<ul>
  <li>Apples</li>
  <li>Bananas</li>
</ul>

Ordered (numbered):

<ol>
  <li>Wake up</li>
  <li>Learn HTML</li>
</ol>

Practice Example: Your First Web Profile

Try writing this in your favorite code editor:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>About Me</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Hi, I’m Jamie!</h1>
  <img src="me.jpg" alt="A photo of me" width="150">
  <p>I’m learning how to build websites, and I love it!</p>
  <p>Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com">Twitter</a>.</p>
</body>
</html>

Save it as index.html and open it in your browser. Ta-da! You’ve just made your first web page.

HTML5 and Semantic Tags

HTML5 introduced semantic elements to help structure pages in a more meaningful way:

<header>Site Title</header>
<nav>Navigation Menu</nav>
<main>Main Content</main>
<article>Blog Post</article>
<footer>Copyright 2025</footer>

These tags improve accessibility, SEO, and code readability. Use them instead of <div> when possible.

Common HTML Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting to close your tags
Using headings in the wrong order (like jumping from <h1> to <h4>)
Not using alt text for images
Always test your HTML in the browser
Use the W3C HTML Validator to check your code

Real-World Analogy: HTML is the Skeleton

Think of a website like a human body:

HTML is the skeleton—it gives the body structure
CSS is the skin, clothes, and appearance
JavaScript is the brain and nervous system that adds interactivity

Without HTML, there’s nothing to style or control.

Quick Recap

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language
It structures content for the web
You use tags like <h1>, <p>, <img>, and <a>
HTML5 includes helpful semantic tags
HTML is the first skill every web developer needs to learn

Final Thoughts

Learning HTML is like learning the alphabet of the web. It might feel simple at first, but it’s the foundation of everything you’ll build in web development. Whether you’re coding a basic landing page or a full-fledged app, HTML is always the starting point.

Start writing your own pages, experiment with different tags, and don’t worry about being perfect. The more you build, the more it’ll click.

What’s Next?

In the next article, we’ll take a deeper look at:
HTML Tags, Elements, and Attributes: How They Work Together

You’ll learn how to write cleaner, more semantic HTML—and even get a sneak peek at how HTML interacts with CSS for styling.

Until then, keep learning and keep coding. You’re doing great!