HTML and CSS - What you need to know
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is one of several markup languages used to create web pages. Although the most predominantly used, hundreds of other XML-based languages (Extensible Markup Language) have also been developed.
HTML WYSIWYG editors
In order to create HTML code for web pages, all that is needed is a Text or HTML editor. You don’t even need to be online when creating your pages.
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors and website publishing tools employ elements of both markup and style sheet languages. With these HTML editors, the code is generally hidden. This helps to simplify website publishing for most users.
Although learning a computer language is not necessary, it is important to have a basic understanding of the code.
Some of the more commonly known HTML editors include Adobe Dreamweaver, Coffee Cup and Kompozer. Although Adobe Dreamweaver is considered one of the best, it is quite expensive. For a free alternative, consider downloading Coffee Cup or Kompozer.
One of HTML’s most important features is its universality. HTML codes are saved as either ASCII or text files. It doesn’t matter if you are using a MAC or Windows based computer, both can read these files.
Although most computers can read these files, how they are eventually displayed is another story. What we actually see on each computer is based on the type of computer, your internet connection and your browser.
A few of the more popular web browsers include Internet Explorer and Firefox.
One Added Note on XML
The need for XML is fueled by the fact that there is simply too much information on the internet to keep up with. Yes, the information is indexed however it is still sometimes hard for search engines to find things. It is estimated that less that 20% of the internet is actually catalogued.
The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) answer to this was XML. XML addresses this issue by:
1. Allowing webmasters to create their own tags.
2. Completely separating a web page’s content from its formatting via a styling sheet.
As a result, data can be identified by the XML tags. If your web pages are written in XML, it is much easier for the search engines to catalogue.
CSS
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is a style sheet language, used with your markup language to create the style, format or look of a web page.
CSS separates your web page’s content from its format. It sounds strange but this actually allows for more control over the page/design.
The exciting thing about CSS is that it can be applied to all of your website’s pages at once. Your entire website’s formatting can be stored in one file.
For a great free tutorial on either HTML or CSS, head on over to W3schools.
