HTMLBrand.com - Basics

Home

Basics | HTML | CSS

How does a web page work?
What is HTML?
What is a URL?
What do I need to get started?

How does a Web page work? So, you want to know how a web page works? Right now you are sitting at your computer looking at this web page through a browser. Most likely you are using a browser called Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). This is the most popular browser as virtually every computer comes with it. There are other browsers such as Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, Safari, and Opera. Each browser is a computer software program that can take you to different sites on the web by typing in their URL or by searching for sites through the use of Search Engines (Google, Yahoo). A browser looks at a website and grabs the HTML tags on the site and translates those tags into a viewable web page, what you are looking at now. Different browsers interpret HTML tags a little differently, so wat you see in Microsoft Internet Explorer might look differently in Mozilla Firefox.

It really doesn't matter which browser you use, as long as you are happy with it and the sites you visit work fine with it. Personally I will use Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox to make sure any HTML that I code is viewable in both browsers (as they are the two most popular). My personal favorite browser (and the one HTMLBrand.com supports the most) is Firefox. You can download it here.

^ Top

What is HTML? HTML (hypertext markup language) is the computer language that is used to create documents (web pages) on the Web. It can be kind of hard to understand at first. HTML documents are text files that consist of HTML tags (which can put text/images anywhere you want them to), and text you can place between the tags so that the text will show up on your page when you publish it on the WWW. Tags are instructions that tell your browser what to show on a Web page. They break up your document into basic sections. All tags start with a <, left bracket, and end with a >, right bracket.

^ Top

What is a URL? URL stands for "uniform resource locator." It is the standard address that can take you to a document (web page), or a specific place on a document, anywhere on the World Wide Web (WWW). My URL is "http://www.htmlband.com" or "http://htmlbrand.com" or just "HTMLBrand.com."

^ Top

What do I need to get started? You need these 4 things:

Editor: an editor is basically just a place to type in your HTML code so that you can save it and send the file to your Web host. This can be the editor that comes with your Web space. If you're using a Mac, Simpletext or TextEdit are good choices. AOL, Tripod, Geocities and others come with an editor built in for your use. You can also use a plain text editor, I use Notepad/WordPad for Windows which works great for me. There is a complete tutorial for using Notepad here. There are other, more complicated editors that you can use that will basically do everything for you, and you don't need to know any HTML at all. You just drag the images onto your page, and the editor writes the code for you. These are called What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get Editors or WYSIWYG. I personally don't recommend these. You can build a Web page very quickly with a "drag and drop"/WYSIWYG editor, but you learn nothing about HTML, and when you want to add something more complicated to your page, you won't even know how to get started. I would recommend sticking with the advanced editors of the free Web hosts, or using Notepad/WordPad to write your HTML.

If you want to to see how HTML editors work, you can try our free online HTML editor. It's a fun and cool tool that shows you how plain text can be converted into HTML code.
Web space: you need this so that other people can view your Website or webpage. There are several free Web space providers listed here. Choosing a Web host is important. Some hosts have large pop-up ads that you (and especially your visitors!) have to deal with, and the editors that come with some Web hosts are not very flexible when it comes to building your webpage. The most important thing you need to look at when trying to find a Web host is the editor that comes with it. You need to be able to write straight HMTL, a lot of Web hosts don't provide editors that do this. I have heard a lot of complaints about various hosts, and the free host that most people find very reliable is Yahoo/Geocities. They have good support for their Web services, and they respond pretty quickly to any problems. They also have a very small banner compared to most other Web hosts. Choosing the right host first will save you a lot of problems in the long run, because it takes a while to transfer Web sites from one host to another if you're not happy with your first host. Please choose carefully!!!
Graphics: it's nice to add graphics to your page. You can find some links to free graphics for kids here. Please don't take graphics from other people's Web sites unless you have permission to do so. If you use graphics from someone else's page (with their permission of course) you should always acknowledge where they came from, this makes your page look more professional and it's just the right thing to do. After you learn enough HTML to make a Web site, you might want to invest in a graphics program so that you will be able to make your own graphics. Making your own graphics makes your page look original, and makes it stand out from all the other sites on the Web ;). You can purchase Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8, it's a great program. If you can't afford something like PSP, try downloading a free program here. Nothing is better than a site that looks like no other. It keeps your visitors interested and makes them want to see what else you have to offer. You can also make your own custom headers with Xara 3D below:
Ideas: you need to come up with something original/unique to make a really great page, something that no one else has done before, something that you present in a completely original way. Here is a PERFECT example of an original page: Fluffs Online. It's really great to have something original, and when you are finished you can at least be proud of what you've accomplished. Fluffs Online is a very unique site, I mean come on.. we are talking about Fluffs here. Coming up with something on your own will help you get lots of visitors, and will get them to tell their friends about your site. Maybe you can write about what you like to do, music, gaming, sports, whatever. Being original is definitely the key!!!

^ Top