Introduction: Editors
When writing HTML code, you need a place to enter text. The simplest tool is to use is a simple text editor.
In Windows, you can find a text editor by going to the Start button, choose Programs, select Accessories and choose NotePad.
In a Mac, you'll from TextEditor in your Applications folder. If you use an old version of Mac, look for Simple Text.
There are many other easy code editors. For example, Netscape Composer has an editor for writing code. There are many free and inexpensive HTML editors that you can download such as BBEdit from BareBones, HotDog from Sausage Software, or HomeSite from Macromedia.
You can also write HTML in web development tools such as Dreamweaver from Adobe Macromedia or GoLive from Adobe.
I'd suggest starting with NotePad or SimpleText/TextEditor that come free on your machine. This way, you'll be sure to get clean code because you'll do everything from scratch.
DO NOT try to use Microsoft Word for building HTML documents. It doesn't generate raw text files.
You can explore and practice many tags at W3 Schools.
If you want something with a few bells & whistles, check out free editors at Google: HTML.
Code Collection
A good web developer spends lots of time examining the code of other programmers. If you'd like to see the HTML code from a web page, you need to view the source. In most web browsers, there's an option to View Source. This allows you to look at code and helps you learn new tricks and tips. Keep in mind that not all programmers use good HTML, so learn to distinguish between good and bad coding.
If you copy the work of others, you should include a comment in the code giving credit.
Try It!
Open a new window in your web browser and find a website you like. If you're using Internet Explorer, select the View menu and choose Source. This will show you the HTML coding. Cool, huh?
To see a simple example, go to my Practice Page. Then, select the View menu and choose Source. Save this file for use later or copy it into your own practice page.
To see a simple website, go to Virtual Field Trips. To see a more complex version of the same thing go to Revised Virtual Field Trips.
These pages should help you understand the basic structure of coding. Feel free to copy elements to fit your needs. See how many takes you recognize as you go through the next section of this website.
Go to W3 School. Complete the tutorial! Try making the pages above.
You can also use the TryIt Editor at W3 Schools to practice HTML.