Cracking the Code

Many people are content to live in their homes, some get in the builders, and some people renovate for themselves. So it is with Web sites. Some Web surfers decide to create pages of their own using no-code Web publishing tools like AOLPress, Corel Web.Designer or Microsoft FrontPage. And some go further, creating their Web pages by creating for themselves the HTML code which is the language of the Web.

HTML isn't computer programming; it's far easier than that. The "ML" stands for "Mark-up Language", marking HTML as a child of the text mark-up that you apply to simple printed material before sending it off to a printer. HTML's other parent is modern technology, so the "HT" stands for "HyperText" - the system that allows you to click on a link in a Web page and be transported to another page.

Despite the rise of complex no-code software programs which allow you to simply type in text and place images and other elements on the page, HTML has its advantages. It allows you much more command of the fine detail of your pages, and it ensures you avoid many of the surprises that can still pop up when you build your site with a no-code program.

You can learn simple HTML in an hour, and intermediate HTML in not so much longer. And on the pages of the Web, experts are clamoring to help.

You can also find books on HTML at Lighthouse's book reviews.

 
 

A Beginner's Guide to HTML provides some of the best early instruction on the language of the Web. It starts with can't-fail examples and builds up to more sophisticated effects which include tables and pictures. At about 16 pages printed, it also makes easy reading in bed or on the train.

Composing Good HTML, a slightly eclectic mix, will widen your understanding of both the code and the medium.

But don't miss ...

Project Cool: Teresa Martin and Glenn Davis's site is the place to go if you want inspirational tuition. Davis invented the Cool Site of the Day award before creating a site which ranks on several counts as the best-designed place on the Web. Project Cool's Developer Zone not only takes you through the basics of HTML, but reminds you of just how much HTML can achieve.

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