Getting started with HTML

  1. Use your web browser to view and copy the 'source' code of pages on the web as a starting point - technically there is a copyright issue but action is rarely taken.

  2. Use any text editor to modify and enhance the source code with bits from other pages to suit your purposes - many people learn about HTML in this way.

  3. Use your browser to open the new page on your computer to see what you have achieved.

  4. Make sure that your page starts with the following - copy from here not from the source:- 
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<title>Put Your Title Here</title>
</head>
<body>
and ends with:-
<p align=center><a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer?ss=">
<img src="http://validator.w3.org/images/vh401" border=0 alt="Valid HTML 4.01!" height=31 width=88></a></p>
</body>
</html>
  1. Use the 'Validate via upload' form on my HTML page to check your code. Correcting any errors increases the likelihood that your page will display properly on all browsers. If your page is mounted on a public web server clicking the image at the bottom will initiate the HTML check - in the same way that clicking the image at the bottom of this page does - try it now.

  2. Many people follow a tutorial at this point. My HTML page links to several but I particularly like Dave Raggett's 'Getting started with HTML'.

  3. The most popular specification is HTML 4.01 loose (used for this page). Beginners will find the slightly older HTML 3.2 more readable. Advanced users often prefer XHTML 1 (used for the ICT page).

3855 hits since April 2003   Valid HTML 4.0!   Owner:
Modified:		   Webmaster
07 - 06 - 2020