Introduction to the Web & HTML
Objective: Understand how websites work, what HTML is, and create your first “Hello StreetGeek!” webpage.
🌐 1. What is HTML?
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language — it’s the skeleton of every webpage.
HyperText
Links between pages.
Markup Language
Uses tags to define content.
Purpose
Tell browsers what to display (headings, paragraphs, images, links, etc.).
Example
<h1>Hello, StreetGeek!</h1>
<p>Welcome to my very first webpage.</p>Browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) read this and render it for users.
⚙️ 2. How Websites Work
- Your browser sends a request to a web server (e.g., sitesbyyogi.com).
- The server returns files (HTML, CSS, JS, images).
- Your browser renders the HTML to display the page.
💡 Think of it like a restaurant:
- Browser
- Customer
- Server
- Kitchen
- HTML/CSS/JS
- Ingredients for your meal
🧩 3. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript: The Big Three
| Language | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| HTML | Structure | Headings, paragraphs, images |
| CSS | Style | Colors, fonts, layout |
| JavaScript | Interactivity | Popups, animations, dynamic updates |
These three languages work together to form every modern website.
💻 4. Your Web Development Environment
🧱 5. The Basic Structure of an HTML Document
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>My First Webpage</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello StreetGeek!</h1>
<p>This is my very first HTML page.</p>
</body>
</html>Breakdown
<!DOCTYPE html>→ HTML5<html>→ wraps the page<head>→ page info (title, metadata)<body>→ visible content
Pro Tip
Use a simple, readable structure first. Add styles and scripts later.
🧪 6. Hands-On Practice: Create Your First Webpage
✅ Exercise 1: “Hello StreetGeek!”
- Open VS Code.
- Create a new file named
index.html. - Paste this code:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Hello StreetGeek</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello, StreetGeek!</h1>
<p>My name is [Your Name]. This is my first webpage.</p>
</body>
</html>- Save the file.
- Open it in your browser by double-clicking it.
🎉 You’ve just built your first web page!
🧭 7. Understanding Tags and Elements
Every tag comes in pairs — an opening and closing tag:
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>Parts
<p>= opening tag</p>= closing tag- Together they form an element.
Common Tags
<h1>–<h6>Headings<p>Paragraph<a>Link<img>Image<ul>, <ol>, <li>Lists<div>Block container<span>Inline container
🧠 8. Comments and Readability
Use comments to explain your code — they won’t show on the page:
<!-- This is a comment -->Good indentation and spacing help future you (and teammates) understand your intent.
💡 9. Try It Yourself Challenge
- Create a webpage called
about.htmlwith: - A heading: “About Me”
- A paragraph describing who you are
- A list of 3 favorite hobbies
- Then link it from your homepage using:
<a href="about.html">About Me</a>
🧩 10. Quiz Time
- What does HTML stand for?
- What tag defines the main visible content of a webpage?
- What’s the purpose of the
<head>tag? - What is the difference between HTML and CSS?
- What tag do you use to create a hyperlink?
🏁 Module 1 Summary
- What HTML is and how it works
- The structure of a webpage
- How browsers and servers communicate
- How to build your first HTML file
- Basic tags and document setup
Next up: 👉 MODULE 2: HTML Structure & Elements — semantic structure, headings, divs, and multi-section pages.