HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is used to define the structure of a website.
HTML is what drives the modern day web. Any web page we go to and view is written in this markup language. HTML provides the content of a web page. Currently, we are running the 5th version of HTML, known as HTML5.
You should already know about relationship between HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But just to reiterate, HTML is like the bones of a website. Imagine one of those do-it-yourself Halloween skeletons you need to assemble. Some of them might come out of the box as a whole skeleton you can use, but because we are teaching web development, you need to learn how to put together the skeleton bone-by-bone, tendon-by-tendon. You’ll find putting the bones together can be difficult, and you’ll see why we need to put the correct finger joints into their correct sockets.
Before we begin, just know that if you put the wrong finger in the wrong socket, it’s okay. Making a great skeleton is difficult and involves a lot of moving parts. But once we have the skeleton set up, we can start adding flesh and functioning organs, and even some clothes. (Although for our class, before you add functioning organs and complex motor skills with JavaScript, you’ll be styling your skeleton with some fabulous clothes and accessories using CSS.)
The index.html file is used as a homepage or default page. The .html suffix indicates that the file is an HTML file.
The index.html file is the file that browsers look for and read first. When you connect to a website, the site’s server sends you a copy of its index.html file. If you’re creating a website, it is good practice to have an index.html page as your first page.
You should already have a Project1 folder. Inside of it, you should have an index.html file, and two folders: css and images. Rename the Project1 folder to anything you like, but it’s best to have your folder/file names correspond to whatever they are about rather than random gibberish.
Remember your file/folder naming rules! (No spaces!)
Open up your index.html file. You will be modifying this file in future exercises in order to create your website, as well as utilize the contents of the other folders!
Move on to the second reading in this HTML module, “Syntax and Structure”.