Do I need special software to write HTML?

No. Any plain text editor works, and you view the page by opening the saved .html file in a web browser. Free code editors make it easier with color highlighting.

What's the difference between HTML and a programming language like Python?

HTML is a markup language: it describes the structure and content of a page. Python is a programming language with logic, loops, and decisions. They do different jobs.

Build a Simple Web Page with HTML | Coding

What is HTML?

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It's the language that builds the structure of every web page on the internet. When you visit a website, your browser reads HTML and turns it into the headings, paragraphs, images, and links you see.

HTML isn't a programming language like Python — it doesn't have loops or decisions. Instead, it's a markup language: it labels content so the browser knows what each part is.

Tags are the building blocks

HTML is made of tags, written inside angle brackets. Most tags come in pairs: an opening tag and a closing tag with a /. The content goes between them:

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

Here <p> opens the paragraph and </p> closes it. The browser knows everything between them is one paragraph.

The page skeleton

Every HTML page starts with the same basic structure. Here it is:

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

Let's break it down:

<!DOCTYPE html> tells the browser this is a modern HTML page.
<html> wraps the entire page.
<head> holds information about the page, not shown on the page itself. The <title> sets the text in the browser tab.
<body> holds everything you actually see on the page.

Type this into a text editor, save it as index.html, and open it in any web browser. You've made a web page!

Headings and paragraphs

HTML has six heading levels, from <h1> (biggest, most important) down to <h6> (smallest):

<h1>My Cooking Blog</h1>
<h2>Breakfast Recipes</h2>
<h3>Pancakes</h3>
<p>Pancakes are easy to make and delicious.</p>

Use <h1> once for the main title, then <h2> and <h3> for sections and subsections. Regular text goes in <p> paragraph tags.

Adding links

Links are what make the web a web. They use the <a> (anchor) tag with an href attribute that holds the destination:

<a href="https://www.wikipedia.org">Visit Wikipedia</a>

An attribute is extra info inside the opening tag, written as name="value". Here href is the attribute and the URL is its value. The text between the tags is what the user clicks.

Adding images

Images use the <img> tag. It's a self-closing tag — it has no closing partner because it holds no text content:

<img src="cat.jpg" alt="A fluffy orange cat sleeping">

Two attributes matter here:

src — the path or web address of the image file.
alt — alternative text that describes the image. Screen readers read it aloud, and it appears if the image fails to load. Always include alt for accessibility.

Making lists

For a set of items, use lists. An unordered list (<ul>) shows bullets, and an ordered list (<ol>) shows numbers. Each item goes in an <li> (list item) tag:

<ul>
  <li>Apples</li>
  <li>Bananas</li>
  <li>Cherries</li>
</ul>

<ol>
  <li>Wake up</li>
  <li>Brush teeth</li>
  <li>Eat breakfast</li>
</ol>

A complete example

Here's a full page that uses everything you've learned:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>About Me</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>About Me</h1>
    <p>Hi! I'm learning to build web pages.</p>

    <h2>My Hobbies</h2>
    <ul>
      <li>Coding</li>
      <li>Drawing</li>
      <li>Soccer</li>
    </ul>

    <h2>A Link I Like</h2>
    <p><a href="https://www.wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a> is great for research.</p>
  </body>
</html>

Save it as a .html file, open it in a browser, and you have a real web page you can share.

Where to go next

HTML gives a page its structure. To control how it looks — colors, fonts, layout — you'd next learn CSS, and to add interactivity you'd use JavaScript. The same logic skills from Loops: Making the Computer Repeat carry straight over.

Practice challenges

Build a page about your favorite movie with a heading, two paragraphs, and a list of characters.
Add a link to the movie's official website.
Add an image with a clear, descriptive alt attribute.

Build a Simple Web Page with HTML

Key takeaways