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Lesson 1: What is HTML and How Does it Work?

The HTML Masterclass: From Zero to Web Developer

1. What is HTML?

HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the backbone of every website you visit. It's not a programming language; rather, it’s a markup language used to structure content on the web.

Think of HTML as the skeleton of a house. It defines where the walls, doors, and windows (the content) go. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is the paint and décor, and JavaScript is the electricity and plumbing (interactivity).

Key Concepts

  1. HyperText: Refers to the way web pages are linked together. Clicking a link takes you to another document (or page).
  2. Markup: Refers to the special tags used to define how content should be displayed (e.g., this is a paragraph, this is a heading).
  3. Language: A set of codes and syntax rules understood by web browsers.

A Brief History

HTML was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991. We primarily use HTML5 today, which is the latest major revision and includes features for multimedia, graphics, and smarter structuring of content.