This page will teach you the basics of HTML as fast as humanly possible -- you can even
skip ahead to the part you are actually interested in, using the links below.
What is HTML?
What is a tag?
Do I have to memorize a bunch of tags?
What is the simplest HTML page?
What is a Hypertext link?
How do I put a graphic image on my page?
How do I put a background graphic on my page?
How do I choose colors?
How do I choose colors for my entire page at once?
How do I make a link that sends e-mail?
How do I learn advanced HTML methods?
One view is their appearance on a Web browser, just like this page -- colors, different text
sizes, graphics.
The other view is called "HTML Code" -- this is the code that tells the browser what to
do.
The code on the left creates the browser display on the right.
Letters and words that are enclosed in "<" and ">" marks are called "tags." They tell the
browser what to do:
When you write an HTML page, you see all the tags and can change them. When you view the
page on a browser, you see the result of the tags.
I want to italicize
<I> (Italic) I want to <I>italicize</I> this!
this!
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>This is my page title!</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
This is my message to the world!
This is my message to the world!
</BODY>
</HTML>
Here is an example:
HTML Code Browser Display
In this example, the phrase "http://www.microsoft.com" tells the browser what the link’s
destination is, and the phrase "Go to Microsoft" tells the human what is happening.
The link on the right is real -- if you press it, you will go to Microsoft’s Web site.
If you want to make a link to one of your own pages, just use the name of the page without the
"http://" prefix:
HTML Code Browser Display
Go to the
<A HREF="../arachnophilia/index.html">Go to the
Arachnophilia Home
Arachnophilia Home Page</A>
Page
How do I put a graphic image on my page?
Use the IMG tag. Here is an example:
HTML Code Browser Display
<IMG SRC="book.gif">
1. If the name of the graphic file is in UPPERCASE, then type the name into the IMG tag in
UPPERCASE also. If it is lowercase, type the name in lowercase. Case errors won’t
matter on your home computer, but when you load your page and graphics onto the Web,
suddenly the graphics won’t show up any more. This is because Windows and other
popular home operating systems do not care whether the file names have the right case,
but Web servers do.
2. If you want to simply type in the graphic file name as shown here, the graphic file must
be in the same directory as your Web page.
3. You can’t use just any graphic file on your page. You should limit yourself to GIF and
JPG files -- most current browsers can display these graphics correctly, and they are also
efficient to store on your page and to download from the Web.
<BODY
BACKGROUND="parchment.jpg">
Notes:
1. Unlike this example, the background graphic repeats itself both horizontally and
vertically. Therefore you can use a small graphic and still get full coverage of the browser
background.
2. You can achieve some special effects by using different background shapes. For example,
the CareWare page’s background is a long horizontal stripe with a pattern on the left
edge. The pattern is designed to repeat vertically without showing a dividing line.
How do I choose colors?
Choosing colors is one of the more complex parts of HTML. To select common colors you
can just type their names into a FONT tag. Here are examples:
HTML Code Browser Display
But if you want to specify an exact color, you have to use special codes (don’t despair -- the
better HTML editors let you use a color selector dialog):
HTML Code Browser Display
To choose a custom color in Arachnophilia , just put the editing cursor in the color definition
and press the right mouse button.
</BODY>
How do I make a link that sends e-mail?
An e-mail tag is not very difficult to design. The tag launches the visitor’s own e-mail
program and fills in the address you specify. Example:
Browser
HTML Code
Display
Browse the Web and look for interesting pages that have the features you want for your
page.
Using the File menu features of your browser, copy the interesting pages onto your
computer.
Load the pages into your HTML editor. If you don’t have an HTML editor, click here .
Copy the code from the interesting page to your page.
Medium hard: browse the Web for HTML resources -- there are many. Go to a Search
Engine
A somewhat harder way is to buy a book about HTML programming and read it.
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