Why You Should Learn HTML

Navigation: Main page » Site Promotion

 Print this page Submit articleComment article

Author: Debra Hamer

Article source: http://www.webmasterarticles.net/. Used with author's permission.

Do you have a website or are you planning on creating a website in the near future? You owe it to yourself to at least learn some basic HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language). Even if someone else is creating and maintaining your website there are some basics you should know. What if that person is not available and you need to add or make changes to your website? I've always believed if you have a business, computer, website, or whatever, you need to know how it works. Don't depend on someone else. Besides why pay someone else when you can do it yourself free of charge.

In this article I will explain some basic HTML formats for you. Believe me it will come in handy at one point or another. I, myself, have only learned some of the basics and I have been able to add, change, and make corrections on my own website by myself.

When you come across a website you like and would like to use a similar layout or text pattern, look at the page in HTML code. You can do this by clicking on "View" at the top of the screen, then choose "Document Source" or "Source" and you can see the page as a HTML document. If you are using AOL then right click on any area on the page without any text or images, then select "View Source". At first it will look like Greek to you but after learning some basic HTML it will start to make sense.

First you will need a word processor program such as Windows "Notepad" or any other word processor you might have. You are working with simple text. You will need to save your document using the "save as" command and give it an html suffix, ex: Mynewdocument.html or Mynewdocument.htm (you can use either suffix html or htm).

HTML works in a simple, logical format. It reads top to bottom and left to right. What are used to set sections apart like bigger text, smaller text, bold text, underlined text are tags. Tags are commands. If you wanted a line of text to be bold you will place a tag at the point you want the bold text to start and a tag at the end of where you want the bold text to stop.

All tags start with the less-than sign < and end with the greater-than sign >, always. What is between these signs is the tag or command. You will need to learn what tag does what. Let's first learn the bold command. The following is an example of making your text bold. The tag for bold is "B". You can use uppercase or lowercase, it doesn't matter. Here is an example:

Note: Due to the HTML codes in the article being formatted and possibly not showing up on the page in normal view I have replaced the < and > signs with the bracket characters [ and ]. Just remember to use the < and > signs and not the [ and ] signs in your document.

This is how it will look in HTML format - [B]This text needs to be bold[/B]

Here is how it will look when converted to normal view - This text needs to be bold   Did you notice the slight difference in the ending tag? There is a slash / before the B. That means it is the end tag. Only the text between the start and end tags will be in bold. Now let's add a twist by putting one of the words in italics.

This is how it will look in HTML format - [B] This [I]text[/I] needs to be bold[/B]

Here is how it will look in normal view - This text needs to be bold   There are some tags that are an exception to the rule about having to have a start and end tag. You don't have to have an end tag when using these tags. Here are some examples.

[HR] this command places a line across the page. HR stands for "horizontal reference".

[BR] this command breaks the text and jumps to the next line, like the return key.

[P] this command stand for "paragraph", it does the same thing as the [BR] command but skips a line.

Every page you create with HTML will need the HTML tag [HTML] which denotes it is an HTML document and the end HTML tag [/HTML] will be at the end of your document. The next tags will be your start Title tag [TITLE] and your end Title tag [/TITLE]. The title of your document will go in between these two tags. The title will show up in the title bar on your browser when you are looking at the page in normal view.

The following are some tags for Headings (there are 6 heading commands) and Font size (there are 12 font size commands):

[H1]This is Heading 1[/H1] - H1 is the largest heading   [H6]This is Heading 6[/H6] - H6 is the smallest heading   So, by using H1 through H6 you can change the size of your heading. Same applies to your font size. You will use [font size ="+1"] through [font size="+12] and don't forget your end tags!

You may notice that your text always starts at the left of the page. If you want your text to start in the center or to the right you will need to specify where you want your text to start. Here are some examples of aligning text:

[CENTER]Center this Text![/CENTER] - your text will be centered on the page.

Center this Text!

To align to the right you need to set the text as a paragraph unto itself by using the [P] tag and adding an attribute to it.

[P ALIGN="right"]Text here will align on the right of the page[/P]

Text here will align on the right of the page

Why did I put an end tag [/p] since the paragraph command does not require an end tag (remember exceptions to the rule?) Anytime you use an attribute tag, as in the above example, you will need to have an end tag, whether you're using the paragraph command [P] or the return command [BR]. Using the [P] or [BR] command by itself does not require an end tag, but if you are adding an attribute then an end tag must be used.

Adding an image to your page would require the following tag:

[IMG SRC="image.jpg"] -you would replace "image.jpg" with your own image file. IMG stands for image and SRC stands for source. You're telling your browser where to find your image file. Your image file could have a gif, jpg, or a bmp association.

Ok now let's get a little more complicated and create a hyperlink on your document. This creates blue underlined words on the page that someone can click on and go to another location. An example is you're creating a link to another website.

[A HREF=http://www.profitfromhomebiz.com"]Profit From Home Biz[/A] - this is what in looks like in HTML code. Note you are adding a description of the link that will be underlined, see the example below.

Profit From Home Biz - what it looks like in normal view. When someone clicks on this link they would be taken to my website.

This is a very important HTML format for when you need to add links onto your webpage. You may already know or will learn that reciprocal linking is very important in promoting your website and obtaining a higher page rank with the search engines. Sometimes the HTML code is provided for you and all you have to do is "copy and paste" the code into your webpage. Often it is not, so you have to figure out how to put the information into HTML code yourself. Just learning this HTML command has been a timesaver for me.

I hope this article has helped you learn some basic HTML and how it can benefit you. I know, I know there are HTML text editors out there you can use and they can do all of this for you. I have used a couple myself, but I still like to know how to do things on my own. I bet you do too!  Sometimes it's just faster and easier to do it yourself.

I've just given you some very basic formats in using HTML, but you can find a lot more resources and information about learning HTML on the internet. Just do a search and I'm sure you will be overwhelmed at what's out there. To view this article with the correct HTML formats please visit www.profitfromhomebiz.com/articles.

Home Mortgage Loans For People With Bad Credit
Do you have bad credit and are trying to get approved for a home loan? Getting a mortgage loan with poor credit history can be difficult, but it's definitely p...

Omega 3 Fat is Good for Your Heart and for Your Brain
Scandinavian fishermen are a healthy bunch. It had long been known that they live longer and have much less heart and blood-pressure related diseases than their...

Babywearing - How To Choose The Just Right Carrier For You, and Your Baby
Having trouble desiding what baby carrier is going to work best for you and your family? Find out about all the diffrent options, the advantages and the drawbac...

Industrial Income Property Financing: Part 3 of 3
Welcome to the third and final segment of a three-part series about income property. In this segment we will be discussing financing options for industrial inc...

Rising Damp
It doesn't sound like a particularly interesting topic, however a quick search on the worlds favourite internet search engine will show that in some circles ris...

Fundraising: How To Avoid Three Common Mistakes
If you want to run for cover when you think about fundraising, you're not alone. Three common mistakes can make your fundraising efforts more difficult than the...

Marketing Tricks or Treats
If marketing your business has you spooked, discover how a Halloween strategy can pull in all the clients you want.

Boost Your Business by Partnering with a Non Profit Organization
Is your business looking for new and creative ways to gain publicity and build your customer base? Partnering with non profit organizations may benefit your bu...

Light Up the Night! Quick Facts about Outdoor Lighting
When the days start to get shorter, the darkness may drive us inside from our porches, patios or decks. Don't despair - outdoor lighting can lengthen the day an...

Marketing Metrics: The Science That Makes the Art of Advertising Profitable
Your profits can soar when you learn how to measure the success of your marketing initiatives the easy way.

Reasons That Move You Bring Clarity, Focus, Determination, and Momentum
Magnify and Intensify your Desire, bring it closer, see it clearly and make it larger, sharpen and maintain your focus. A-h-h-h. There's the rub, How do you mai...

A New Option for Weight Loss Surgery
Weight loss surgery that leaves a smaller stomach while leaving smaller scars than the traditional surgery

Where to Find Wholesale Hair Extensions
Many people turn to hair extensions to change their looks and, in turn, to change their lives. This makes for big business for cosmetologists trained in hair ex...

He Looks Like A Monkey
Is there anything sweeter in a relationship than having your girlfriends mother support it one hundred percent? There probably is, but I can't remember. Usually...

Planning Permission Tips Uk - How To Select A Property to Extend or Develop
Many people purchasing a property for their main home actually look for a property with a view to extending it. This is a very common theme that I have come acr...

Ezine Publishing: So How Often Do I Send This Thing Out?
So you have decided to publish an ezine and you are wondering how often to send it out. Good for you. You are far ahead of most people who just think about havi...

How To Develope Content For Your Ezine Without Having To Write Your Own Articles
Do you struggle with creating content for your ezine? You think you are not good enough? Or you just don't have enough time to write quality articles? Here's so...

College Student Credit Card - Students Can Find The Right Credit Card
Here are some tips to help you get a good student credit card online.

Real Estate Investing - The Marvel Of Home Depot And Lowes
Your local Home Depot and Lowe's store are great resources for renovating a house for resale or repairing a damaged rental property. These stores fill a huge ne...

Top Seven Tips To Become A Good Stepmother
Becoming a stepmother can undoubtedly be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, experiences in a woman's life.

Health Insurance Plans - Benefits to Different Plans & Providers
Here is some information about different health plans to help you decide what you want in a health insurance plan.

All Fortunes Begin With an Idea!
A new idea is merely the combination of two or more old ideas. The creation of a new idea is the critical first step in establishing any business.

10 Surefire Ways To Survive Eating Out
Tips for dinning out...

Be Patient? Nah, Lets Kill Something
There's the old joke about the two buzzards sitting in a tree overlooking a highway. One responds to the other, "Be patient? I'm hungry. Let's kill something." ...