Introduction to HTML Tutorial

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HTML means Hypertext Markup Language.  It is a computer language which is the basic language of the internet.  Web browsers recognize HTML “markup tags” and transform the tagged text into an enhanced, augmented appearance.  That is, by using HTML, simple text and graphics are “marked up” to a more visually appealing and attractive form when viewed on a web browser.

The document you create—containing all the text, the graphics, and the HTML markup tags—is called the HTML “source code document.”  You can create an original document with any word processing program, even with something as simple as Notepad: Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > Notepad.

Next, save the document on your computer as an HTML document, ending in .html or .htm (I prefer .html).  If you see *.txt in the “File name” field of the Notepad “Save as” window, change the * to whatever you want to name the file, and change txt to html (or htm).  You can save it into a directory that you have created on your C: drive named “MyWebsite” or something similar.  We include .html or .htm at the end of every source code document, because the addresses of the majority of pages on the World Wide Web will end in either .html or .htm.

To view the HTML source code document that you have created and saved on your computer, you first locate the file by using your File Manager, such as Windows Explorer (Window Key + E) or My Computer.  Then double-click on the file, and it will be opened by your computer’s browser.  The three most commonly used browsers are the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, the Firefox browser, and Netscape Navigator browser.  All are free to download online.

Once you have created and edited a web page to your satisfaction, you can upload it to your web site.  Most ISP’s (internet service providers) have a great deal of space available on their computer servers for the websites of their members.

All web pages have a web address or “URL” (uniform resource locater), which usually includes the name of the ISP.  (When inserting a hyperlink on one page which links to a second page in the same directory, the URL used for the second page is simply the name of that document—for example, newpage.html.)  If you will look in the address box near the top of your browser, you will see that the URL of this page is one of the following:

http://www.tedmontgomery.com/tutorial/intrdctn.html
http://www.tedmontgomery.com/tutorial/intrdctn.html#url

While editing your HTML source code document, you alternately can view it on the web browser installed on your computer, to see if the changes you make look the way you want them to.  To do this, you easily can toggle back and forth between your source code document and your browser by depressing and holding down the Alt key, then tapping the Tab key.  Continuing to tap the Tab key enables you to go through the icons of the programs open on your computer.  Release the Alt key when you reach the program you want to view.

Thus, you can make a change in your source code document and, moments later, view the updated page on your browser.  Just be sure, after making any changes in your source code, that you reload or refresh the new page on the browser, usually by depressing the F5 key, or else the Ctrl + R keys.

Finally, you may be interested to know that, with most web browsers, you can view the HTML source code of most web pages on the internet by doing the following:

To learn about HTML and about how to create a page or pages to place at your own web site, return to the main HTML Tutorial page.  To see the source code for the home page of a web site (First Century Ministries) that I designed, go to Web Page Example.

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Copyright © 1998– by Ted M. Montgomery.  All rights reserved.