HTML Basics

HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is the standard markup language for creating Websites. It is used to describe the structure of a Web page. HTML consists of elements that tell the browser how the content is displayed on the screen. We’ll walk you through fundamental HTML examples and teach you how to create a webpage. This HTML Basics covers fundamental HTML examples.

In this guide, the basics of HTML include learning HTML tags ( <h1>, <p>, <img>, etc), attributes, elements, and document structure which collectively form a working web page.

Table of Content

Basic HTML Document
HTML Headings
HTML Paragraph and Break Elements
HTML Horizontal Line
HTML Images
View HTML Source Code

Every HTML document begins with a document type declaration, setting the foundation for the webpage. This section introduces basic HTML tags that structure the page, such as <head>, <body>, and <title>. Although this is not mandatory, it is a good convention to start the document with the below-mentioned tag.

Below mentioned are the basic HTML tags that divide the whole page into various parts like head, body, etc.

Basic HTML Tags for Document Structure
Tags	Descriptions
<html>	Encloses the entire HTML document, serving as the root element for all HTML content.
<head>	Contains header information about the webpage, including title, meta tags, and linked stylesheets. It is part of the document’s structure but is not displayed on the webpage.
<title>	Used within the <head> section to define the title of the HTML document. It appears in the browser tab or window and provides a brief description of the webpage’s content.
<body>	Encloses the visible content of the webpage, such as text, images, audio, videos, and links. All elements within this tag are displayed on the actual webpage when viewed in a browser.

Example 1: To illustrates the Basic HTML structure.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>HTML</title>

</head>

<body>
    <!--Contents of the webpage-->
    <p>w3wiki is a online study platform</p>
</body>

</html>

Output:

HTML Basic Example Output

HTML Structure

The HTML heading tags are used to create headings for the content of a webpage. These tags are typically placed inside the body tag. HTML offers six heading tags, from <h1> to <h6>, each displaying the heading in a different font size.

Syntax:

<h1></h1>
<h2></h2>
<h3></h3>
<h4></h4>
<h5></h5>
<h6></h6>

Example 2: To demonstrate the use of 6 heading tags from <h1> to <h6> in HTML.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <title>HTML heading tag</title>
</head>

<body>
      <h1>Heading 1 (h1)</h1>
      <h2>Heading 2 (h2)</h2>
      <h3>Heading 3 (h3)</h3>
      <h4>Heading 4 (h4)</h4>
      <h5>Heading 5 (h5)</h5>
      <h6>Heading 6 (h6)</h6>
</body>

</html>

Output:

HTML <p> tags are used to write paragraph statements on a webpage. They start with the <p> tag and end with </p>. The HTML <br> tag is used to insert a single line break and does not require a closing tag. In HTML, the break tag is written as <br>.

Syntax:

// for Parapgraph

<p> Content... </p>

// for Break
<br>

Example 3: To illustrates the use of <p> tag for writing a paragraph statement in HTML.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <title>
            Example of paragraph and break elements
      </title>
</head>

<body>
      <p>
            HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language.<br>
            It is used to design web pages using a markup
            language.<br>HTML is a combination of Hypertext
            and Markup language.<br>Hypertext defines the
            link between web pages.<br>A markup language
            is used to define the text document within the
            tag which defines the structure of web pages.
      </p>
</body>

</html>

Output:

The HTML <hr> tag is used to divide a page into sections by creating a horizontal line that spans from the left to the right side of the page. This is an empty tag and does not require a closing tag or any additional attributes.

Syntax:

<hr>

Example 4: To illustrates the use of the <hr> tag for the horizontal line in HTML.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>HTML &lt;hr&gt; tag</title>
</head>

<body>
    <h1>Hello w3wiki</h1>
    <p>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
    </p>
    <hr>
    <p>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
    </p>
    <hr>
    <p>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
        A Computer Science portal for Beginner<br>
    </p>
    <hr>
</body>

</html>

Output:

tag output" height="inherit" loading="lazy" src="/public/files/hr-1.jpg" width="inherit">

Output

The <img> tag is used to insert an image into a webpage. The source of the image is specified within the src attribute, like this: <img src=”source_of_image”>.

Syntax:

<img src="Beginner.png">

Example 5: To illustrates the use of the <img> tag for inserting the images in HTML.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <title>HTML img tag</title>
</head>

<body>
      <img src=
"https://media.w3wiki.net/wp-content/cdn-uploads/Geek_logi_-low_res.png">
</body>

</html>

Output:

tag output" height="inherit" loading="lazy" src="/public/files/geek.png" width="inherit">

Adding image using tag

While checking a web page, you might want to see the HTML code behind it. Here we will see how you can view HTML source code for the entire page or a specific element.

1. View HTML Source Code of Entire Page

To view the source code of a webpage press ctrl + u on the page, or right-click on the page and select the “view page source” option.
This will open a new tab that shows the HTML source code for that entire page.

2. Inspect an HTML Element on a Page

To check the HTML code for a specific element on a page, right-click on the page and select the “Inspect” option.
This lets you see the HTML and CSS behind that element. You can also try making changes and see the changes.

What are the basics of HTML?

Basic HTML includes mastering document structure, tags, and their attributes and elements.

What are the basic rules of HTML?

Some basic rules of HTML are:

The basic HTML structure is fixed with doctype declaration, html, head, title, and body tags. The content then can be added to the body tag.
Tags are enclosed in < and >. A tag should have an opening tag(eg <h1>) and a closing tag(eg </h1>).
HTML Tags are not case-sensitive.

What are the uses of HTML?

HTML is used to build page structure, create hyperlinks(using <a> tag), embed multimedia on page(with <img>, <video>, or <audio> tag) and HTML is the foundation of web development.

Basic HTML Document

HTML Basic Structure:

HTML Headings

Syntax:

HTML Paragraph and Break Elements

Syntax:

HTML Horizontal Line

Syntax:

HTML Images

Syntax:

View HTML Source Code

1. View HTML Source Code of Entire Page

2. Inspect an HTML Element on a Page

FAQs – HTML Basics

What are the basics of HTML?

What are the basic rules of HTML?

What are the uses of HTML?

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