🌐 HTML

What is HTML?

Lesson 1 of 5 ~5 min

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is the standard language for creating web pages. Every website you visit is built with HTML at its core.

HTML tells the browser what content to display — headings, paragraphs, images, links, buttons — but it doesn't control how that content looks. That's what CSS is for.

Your first HTML page

Every HTML page follows the same basic structure. Here's the simplest possible page:

Editor

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>My First Page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Hello, World!</h1>
  <p>This is my first web page.</p>
</body>
</html>

Output

Try it

Edit the text inside the <h1> and <p> tags on the left. The output on the right updates as you type.

How HTML works

→ HTML uses tags to wrap content. Tags come in pairs: an opening tag and a closing tag.
→ The browser reads the HTML file and renders it visually as a web page.
→ HTML is not a programming language — it's a markup language that structures content.

The basic structure

<!DOCTYPE html>    <!-- Tells the browser this is HTML5 -->
<html>              <!-- Root element of the page -->
<head>              <!-- Metadata (not visible on page) -->
  <title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>              <!-- Visible content goes here -->
  <h1>Main Heading</h1>
  <p>A paragraph of text.</p>
</body>
</html>

Quiz

What does HTML stand for?

Challenge

In the editor above, add a second <h2> heading and a second <p> paragraph. See how the page changes.

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Learn Overview

Tags & Elements