What is HTML?

Definition

HyperText Markup Language is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the meaning and structure of web content.

Explain Like I'm New

If a webpage is a house, HTML is the bricks and the wooden frame. It doesn't look pretty (that's CSS), and it doesn't have working plumbing (that's JavaScript), but without HTML, there is no house at all.

Real World Example

When you right-click any website and click 'View Page Source', the text you see wrapped in angle brackets `<like this>` is HTML.

Common Use Cases

•Building the skeleton of a website
•Structuring text, images, and links

Interactive Example

Interview Questions

basic

Is HTML a programming language?

intermediate

What does 'Markup' mean in HTML?

Flash Cards

Question

Is it a programming language?

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Answer

No. It is a 'Markup Language'. Programming languages (like JavaScript) have logic, loops, and math. HTML simply 'marks up' text to tell the browser what that text is (e.g., 'This is a heading', 'This is a paragraph').

Question

What does Markup mean?

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Answer

Markup refers to the tags `<tag>` used to annotate text. You take raw text and wrap it in markup tags to give it structure and meaning.