HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
HTML provides a set of markup elements used to add document structure, meta data and basic display formatting for an HTML document. Document structure elements define the organization of the information on the web page. Meta data elements provide browsers and search engines with "hidden" information on what the web page is about and how to display it. The content is the visible parts of a web page. A web page will have HTML markup, in the form of elements, to provide document structure, meta information and visible content.
HTML Elements
An HTML element identifies an area or location where a markup should start and end. An HTML element can be either a pair of opening and closing tags or self closing. A paired element will contain an opening tag, optional attributes, content and a closing tag. Self closing elements, consist of one tag and optional elements. HTML elements can be used for meta data, formatting and/or document structure.
Example of Paragraph Element using an Open and Close Tag
<p>This is an example of a HTML paragraph (p) element that has an open tag (<p>) and a close tag (</p>).</p>
Example of Self Closing Meta Data Element
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
Meta Data
Meta data provides additional information about a web page. Most meta data elements are used for SEO (search engine optimization). Common SEO meta data elements are keywords, description and language. Other meta data elements provide browsers or other systems with information on how to display the web page. Social media sites often require specific meta data to improve the display of shared web pages. The majority of meta data is not directly visible on a web page.
Example of Description Meta Data Element
<meta name="description" content="Learn about how Bryan Myers has mastered the art of web design, web development and SEO over the course of a long professional career. He utilizes HTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, mySQL and mobile-first technologies.">
Example of Social Media Meta Data Elements
<meta name="twitter:card" content="Summary">
<meta property="twitter:site" content="@endhead">
<meta property="twitter:title" content="Bryan Myers absorbs new web design, web development and SEO on a daily basis.">
<meta property="twitter:description" content="Learn about how Bryan Myers has mastered the art of web design, web development and SEO over the course of a long professional career. He utilizes HTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, mySQL and mobile-first technologies.">
<meta property="twitter:image" content="https://www.bryan-myers.com/images/1x1/bryan-myers.png">
<meta property="twitter:image:alt" content="Picture of Bryan Myers in Black and White.">
Content
Content is the visible part of a web page. HTML elements encapsulate the different parts of the content on the page to provide document structure such as headings and paragraphs. Simple formatting elements can be applied to content to provide bold or italics. Interface elements can provide content the user can interact with, include forms and hyperlinks. Media elements add graphical images and video to the web page. Content is the part of the web page that users read, interact with and view.
HTML is...
HTML is the primary building block of web pages. It is a markup language, not a programming language. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) can be used with HTML to provide additional design and layout information. JS (JavaScript) can be used with HTML to provide dynamic interface elements. HTML and the use of elements allow for web browsers to display a web page.
Articles
Web Design
