The common language used to create web pages and other web-based documents is called HyperText Markup Language (HTML). It is a markup language used to organize web content and specify the significance and function of each section. In plainer terms, it is the system that makes it possible for content to be displayed on the internet. HTML makes it easier to create web pages that can be viewed on any internet-connected device.
Every website developer should have a working knowledge of HTML because it is a crucial tool. The internet today would not exist without HTML. We shall discuss the fundamentals of HTML, its background, and its applications in this essay.
A Brief History of HTML
British computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee created HTML for the first time in 1990 while working at CERN. 1993 saw the publication of HTML 1.0, while 1995 saw HTML 2.0. HTML 3.2, which supported tables and forms, was first introduced in 1997. Released in 1998, HTML 4.0 was the first version to include CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). The most recent version of HTML is HTML 5, which was unveiled in 2014.
HTML 5 is a considerable improvement over earlier versions thanks to its new semantic tags, multimedia, and video support features. It makes it simple for developers to make more complicated web pages. Google and YouTube are two popular websites that have already used HTML 5.
HTML Tags
Web pages are constructed from HTML tags. They can be used to add photos, links, and other content, format and arrange text, and much more. Angle brackets are used to delimit HTML tags ( and >). Web browsers can understand the preset meaning and purpose of each tag.
The opening tag and the closing tag make up the fundamental structure of an HTML tag. The opening tag includes the tag name and any attributes required to change the behavior of the tag. A forward slash (/) is used to indicate the closing tag and comes before the tag name.
For example, the ‘p’ tag is used to format a paragraph. The opening tag is , and the closing tag is . Any text that is written in between the opening and closing tags is considered a paragraph.
HTML Attributes
HTML attributes are used to change how HTML tags behave. An HTML element’s opening tag contains attributes, which are pieces of data that specify how the element should be presented.
Typically, attributes are named value pairs that give further details about the entity to which they are applied. The ‘href’ element, for instance, is used to indicate the hyperlink’s target page. An HTML tag’s attribute addition syntax is.
HTML Formatting Tags
Text on a web page can be formatted using HTML formatting tags. To make text bold, for instance, use the ‘b’ tag. To make text italic, use the I tag. the following formatting tags:
• Bold Text
• Italic Text
• Underlined Text
• Emphasized Text
• Strong Text
• Small Text
• Superscript Text
• Subscript Text
HTML Links
The web cannot exist without links. They enable users to download files, visit various pages, and more. With the anchor element in HTML, which is followed by the ‘href’ attribute, which defines the URL of the page the link should point to, links are established.
As an illustration, the code below generates a link to the Google homepage:
HTML Images
With the element, images can be added to web pages. The location of the image file is specified using the’src’ element. For accessibility reasons, the ‘alt’ attribute is used to provide an alternate text description of the image.
For example, the following code displays an image of a car:
HTML Forms
In order to gather user input, HTML forms are employed. Forms can be used for many different things, including registration, surveys, and online shopping.
The tag, which describes the action to be taken when the form is submitted, is used to design forms. The tag is used to construct form components like checkboxes, radio buttons, and text boxes.
For instance, the code below generates a straightforward signup form:
