- Before we get started learning the specifics of HTML,
I want to take a moment to explain the importance of HTML
and why it's so critical to web design.
If you've seen me talk about web design before,
you've probably heard me say to new web designers
that they need to learn at least the three core languages
of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Well, those three languages form the backbone
of all websites and web content,
and they're critical skills for any web designer to learn.
However, if you were ask me
which of those three was the most important to learn,
I'd say, without any hesitation, that it's HTML.
Although CSS controls how a page looks,
and JavaScript controls how it behaves,
HTML provides the essential structure for web pages.
Take away the CSS, and you simply have an unstyled page.
Take away the JavaScript,
and certain behaviors may cease to function.
Take away the HTML however,
and you're left with nothing at all,
no web page, no content, nothing.
In fact, to have a website, all you really need is HTML.
A properly written HTML document
will not only be readable to the user,
but will also convey the structure of the document,
the relationship of its content to each other,
and allow the user to link to other pages and sites.
HTML can do all of this because it's a markup language.
That means that HTML is used to mark up content
in order to explain what that content is
and how it relates to other content on the page.
It does this through the use of tags,
which are used to identify specific types of content.
A p tag, for example, identifies the content as a paragraph,
while the nav tag would identify its content
as being part of the page's navigation.
By knowing the rules of how tags work together,
and which tags to use,
it's incredibly simple to author an HTML page.
Sound easy?
Well, that's because it is (chuckles).
In fact, most people can learn the basics
of HTML syntax in about five minutes.
Now, for some of you,
this may seem a little (chuckles) too simple.
I mean, you're supposed to be learning how to code, right?
Shouldn't this be a little bit more difficult?
Well, I assure you,
there is a little bit more to it than that,
as you'll see in a moment.
However, it's not an exaggeration
to say that HTML is a simple language,
and, to be honest, that is perhaps its greatest strength.
You see, HTML's simplicity made it incredibly easy
for people to learn and adopt.
In the early days of the web,
this made it easy for developers
to write browsers to display web content
and for authors to learn how to structure their pages.
And although HTML has grown and evolved over the years,
it hasn't really changed that dramatically at all
since the first version.
This consistency has helped grow the adoption of the web,
and we'll continue to feel its growth
as it moves beyond browsers
and into a connected world of devices and applications.
The growth of connected devices
like tablets, phones, appliances, and wearable tech
are creating a much larger ecosystem for HTML content.
Regardless of how complex the site or web application is,
or how many other technologies might be involved with it,
at the core of the page, you're going to find HTML.
That's why regardless of which skills you choose
to focus on, HTML is an essential skill
for you to learn and master.