HTML Introduction
In this page:
What is HTML?
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is not a programming language; it is a markup language that tells your web browser how to structure and display web pages.
Note: Think of HTML tags as invisible containers that organize your text and media.
Warning: HTML only structures content and cannot perform complex logic or math calculations.
Example: What is HTML?
<html>
<body>
HTML structures and displays this text.
</body>
</html>The Core HTML Structure
Every valid web page needs a standard skeleton. This includes declarations and tags that tell the browser what document type it is reading.
Note: The doctype declaration must always be the very first line of code in your file.
Warning: Leaving out the root html tags can confuse the browser and break your layout across different platforms.
Example: The Core HTML Structure
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Cookies Cursor</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Welcome to our utility tools!</p>
</body>
</html>How Browsers Read HTML
Web browsers do not display the HTML tags themselves. Instead, they read the tags like instructions to render the visual content inside them.
Note: Use your browser's inspect tool to view the live HTML structure of any active website.
Warning: Different browsers might render unstyled HTML tags with slightly different default spacing and margins.
Example: How Browsers Read HTML
<p>This text is displayed, but the <p> tags themselves are not.</p>A Brief History of HTML Versions
HTML was created in 1991 and went through several numbered versions, with HTML 4.01 becoming a long-standing standard in the late 1990s. HTML5, released in 2014, introduced native support for video, audio, and semantic elements like article and section, and is the version every modern browser uses today.
Note: You never need to declare an HTML version number anymore — the simple <!DOCTYPE html> declaration always means 'use HTML5 rules'.
Warning: Older tutorials referencing HTML 4 or XHTML sometimes recommend outdated practices, like using tables for layout, that no longer apply today.
Example: A Brief History of HTML Versions
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>cookiescursor.com</title>
</head>
<body>
<article>
<h2>Free Tools</h2>
<p>cookiescursor.com offers 100 free developer tools.</p>
</article>
</body>
</html>- Writing doctype in lowercase or putting spaces inside the exclamation tag.
- Confusing the header tag with the head tag of your document.
- Forgetting that HTML is purely structural and not for styling or logic.
- HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language and structures your web pages.
- Every basic HTML document must start with a doctype declaration.
- Browsers read HTML tags to draw layout components but hide the tags themselves.
All modern and legacy web browsers fully support basic HTML structure natively.
Chapter Quiz — Complete all 11 topics to unlock
0/11 topics done
Complete these topics first: