HTML
HyperText Markup Language
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
HTML is like the skeleton of a webpage. You write tags like
and
and the browser builds the bones of your site from them. Without HTML there's nothing to look at — just a blank void of nothingness.
Real Talk
HTML is the standard markup language for creating web pages. It defines the structure and semantic meaning of web content using a system of elements represented by tags. Browsers parse HTML into the DOM tree that everything else builds on top of.
Show Me The Code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>My Page</title></head>
<body>
<h1>Hello World</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
When You'll Hear This
"The HTML is fine but your CSS is a disaster." / "Use semantic HTML so screen readers can understand your page."
Related Terms
Accessibility (a11y)
Accessibility (a11y) is making your website usable by everyone — including people using screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, or who have low vision.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
CSS is the makeup and wardrobe for your HTML skeleton. It decides what color everything is, how big things are, and where stuff goes on the page.
DOM (Document Object Model)
The DOM is a live map of your webpage that JavaScript can read and edit. When the browser loads your HTML it turns it into a big tree of objects.
JavaScript
JavaScript is what makes websites actually DO stuff. HTML is the bones, CSS is the skin, and JavaScript is the muscles and brain.
Semantic HTML
Semantic HTML means using the RIGHT tag for the job instead of wrapping everything in divs.