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HTML Tags
The first thing to remember about tags is that they travel in pairs. Every time you use a tag - say <blockquote> - you must also close it off with another tag - in this case, </blockquote>. Note the slash - / - before the word "blockquote"; that's what distinguishes a closing tag from an opening tag. Below are the sets of tags needed to set up a basic web page.
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>
</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
</BODY>
</HTML>
That's all there is to it!. These four sets of tags allow you to create a no-frills document that is readable by a web browser. If you want to make it even easier on yourself, then copy and paste the tags right from here into a new/blank Notepad document
(Or copy/paste into a blank/new document in whatever word processor program you are using.)
Save this document as HTML.txt (or whatever name you like). You have just created your template for future web pages.
If you choose to type the tags into the document yourself, save it in a similar manner afterwards.
Now, open your HTML.txt document. Type a few lines of text between the tag set:
<BODY>
</BODY>
LIKE THIS:
<BODY>This is my first attempt at making a HomePage. I really can't believe how easy it is! I am going to be the envy of everyone I know. </BODY>
Then, save the document as homepage.html or whatever you choose. (Some people may have to use the extension .htm rather than .html; the results will be the same.)
Finally, using your browser, open the file. On Netscape this is done by using the File option on the top menu, choosing Open File in Browser, selecting your file and opening.
The sentences you typed should appear in the "body" of the document. It will be of similar size and type of text to any normally typed sentence and will look like this;
This is my first attempt at making a HomePage. I really can't believe how easy it is! I am going to be the envy of everyone I know.
Using the Basic HTML Tags
This is the overview of truly basic HTML. It is VERY important to remember that HTML, for the most part, is written using SETS of tags like the example we have already used:
<BODY>
</BODY>
It is essential to remember to type both the < and > parts of each HTML tag. Since we are a little familiar with the BODY tag set, we will take it first. The BODY of the Document appears between the <BODY> </BODY> tags. EVERYTHING you are reading on this page, if you are reading it on the web or another web page that you visit, constitutes the BODY of the document.
The HTML tag set,
<HTML>
</HTML>
tells a web browser the document is written in HTML and contains the entire document, what is visible to the reader in the body and other things as well.
The HEAD tag set,
<HEAD>
</HEAD>
Contains special information for web browsers, including the
<TITLE>
</TITLE>
tags, which contain the name of the document which appears at the top of the web browser and is what will appear in a person's bookmark file if they bookmark your page. It is also the only part of the HEAD section that is visible to the reader.
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