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Definition: HTML was developed in the early 1990s. HTML is the abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language, a markup language on the Internet. Together with CSS and other techniques, HTML is used to display web pages in web browsers. The task of HTML is to structure the content. CSS is responsible for the "design". You can find more information here.

In addition to the content, HTML also characterizes the meta information in the head of a web page, such as the title tag, the meta description, language or commands to search engines. HTML therefore has a very important function in the area of search engine optimization.

Contents

Why was HTML developed?

Writing HTML

Video

Why was HTML developed?

Since CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) was looking for a solution to exchange research results in 1989, the first version of HTML was created in 1992. In November 1995, version 2.0 was published, which, among other things, introduced form technology. On January 14, 1997, version 3.2 was released, which made it possible to mark up tables and text flow around images. An important step forward was the introduction of version 4.0 on December 18, 1997: stylesheets, frames and scripts wereintroduced. This meant that content could be strictly separated from design. This standard remained in place with minor corrections until 2014. In the meantime, XHTML was introduced in browsers from January 2000, but was then replaced by HTML5, the current version, in October 2014.

Writing HMTL

Hypertext Markup Language can be written in all text editors. HTML uses tags, i.e. textual, standardized elements. These tags appear in the head and the body. In the head, for example, the title tag mentioned above. In the body, for example, H tags are used for a heading hierarchy. There are the hierarchy levels H1-H6. Other tags for structuring are "p" (paragraph) for paragraphs, "li" for lists and formatting tags such as "strong", "bold" or "em" (emphasis) for general emphasis and highlighting. Other elements such as the "a element" for linking to other pages are very important.

Head and body are separated from each other, whereby a typical HTML structure in the first line still describes which type of document with which exact markup language it is. Here is an example:


  
    
      Title of the page
    
    
      Content of the page and links
    
  

Note the syntax here: Tags are usually declared in pairs: by a start tag such as and the matching end tag, i.e. . Exceptions are so-called "self-closing" tags such as "/br" (line break). They do not require an opening tag. The definition is defined by default in the document type definition (DTD). If you do not adhere to this syntax, display errors may occur. If you want to check your HTML code, many sites on the Internet offer validators.

Further references:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Markup_Language

https://www.html.de/

A good and well-maintained website for learning HTML (and other languages) is SELFHTML.org

The following video series introduces you to development with HTML:

As an Internet agency from Stuttgart, we look forward to receiving your exciting HTML and other code. If you would like to get to know us, please contact us!

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