What Is HTML? A Beginner's Introduction To HTML

If you are starting your journey into web development, HTML is where it all begins. HTML is the foundation of every website you have ever visited.

Table of Contents

But what exactly is HTML, and why is it so important for building websites?

This guide is designed for beginners. By the end, you will understand:

What HTML is
How it works behind the scenes
How to start writing your own simple webpages

Let’s get started!

What is HTML?

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is the standard language used to create and structure web pages.

HyperText – Text that links to other text (via links)
Markup Language – A way to “mark” or structure content using special tags

HTML doesn’t make your website pretty (that’s what CSS is for) or interactive (that’s JavaScript). But it builds the foundation of your site – the content and layout.

Think of it like this:
If a webpage were a house, HTML would be the bricks and framework.

How HTML Works

HTML is made up of elements written using tags. These tags tell the browser what each part of the page is: a heading, a paragraph, an image, a form, a list, or a link.

Here’s a simple HTML snippet:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My First Page</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello, World!</h1>
    <p>This is my first HTML page.</p>
  </body>
</html>

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My First Page</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello, World!</h1>
    <p>This is my first HTML page.</p>
  </body>
</html>

Let’s break it down:

<!DOCTYPE html> tells the browser this is an HTML5 document.
<html> wraps the entire page.
<head> contains information about the page, like the title and metadata (not shown on screen).
<title> sets the browser tab title.
<body> contains everything that appears on the actual web page.

What Does “Markup Language” Mean?

HTML is called a markup language because it “marks up” plain text with tags to describe its meaning and structure.

Example:

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

Here, <p> is the paragraph tag, and it tells the browser that this line is a paragraph.

What Can HTML Do?

With HTML, you can:

Create headings, paragraphs, and lists
Add images, videos, and links
Build forms to collect user input
Structure a webpage with semantic elements like <header>, <main>, and <footer>

HTML provides content with structure and meaning.

Why Learn HTML?

It’s the starting point for any front-end developer.
No website can exist without HTML.
It’s easy to learn and super beginner-friendly.
You need it to customize WordPress themes, write blog posts, and build full websites.

Practice Time

You don’t need anything fancy to start. Use a simple text editor like Notepad (in Windows) or TextEdit (in Mac) and try writing this:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Test Page</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
    <p>Learning HTML is fun!</p>
  </body>
</html>

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Test Page</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
    <p>Learning HTML is fun!</p>
  </body>
</html>

Save it as index.html, and open the file in your browser by double-clicking it.
🎉 You have just created your first webpage!

Later on, you can use below tools for advanced coding:

Summary

Term	Meaning
HTML	HyperText Markup Language
Tags	Keywords wrapped in angle brackets like `<p>`
Elements	Tags + content
Markup Language	A way to “mark” content with meaning
Web Page	A document created using HTML