When you are building web pages in a code editor like Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, you need to create an index.html because this page has an important job to do. Creating an index.html page first is considered a best practice in web development.
So, what is the index.html page, and why does it matter? This article teaches you about index.html and why you should always create this page when you are building a website.
What is index.html?
Index.html is the first HTML page you create as you’re building a website. HTML ( HyperText Markup Language) helps give structure to your text and other elements on a webpage. The index.html page is the default page a website visitor sees if no other page is specified, which is often referred to as the “homepage”.
For example, if you type in an URL such as https://careerkarma.com, you have not specified any particular page the server should deliver to the client (computer or mobile phone). In many cases, what you will see then is the default page, or index.html page.
If you know the exact address of the page you want to view, such as https://careerkarma.com/blog, then the server will direct you to that page instead of the index.html page.
index.html is easily recognized on most servers as the default page, which is why many developers choose to go with index.html as the default page name.
How to Make an index.html Page
By now you understand what an index.html page is and why it’s important. Let’s take a look at exactly how we can make an index.html page by using Visual Studio Code (or VS Code), a code editor.
If you don’t have VS Code installed, check out this helpful guide on getting started with Visual Studio Code.
Let’s start with creating a new file.
From the main VS Code dashboard, create a new file.
You’ll then be shown a blank code file with a name like “Untitled” or “Untitled-1”.
Next, go to “File”, “Save as”, and save your file name as “index” with a file type of “html”.
Now you will see “index.html” as the name of your file.
By default, there are a few elements that you should have in your index.html file. These include HTML tags such as <html>, <head>, and <body>. You should also declare the document type using “DOCTYPE HTML”.
You have your index.html page. Now you can create additional files to bring your website to life.
Conclusion
The index.html page is an important part of your website. This is the page that servers deliver to clients (devices) when users do not specify a different page.
It’s easy to set up an index.html page in your code editor. Remember that you can create other HTML pages in addition to index.html, such as about.html or contact.html.
By including an index.html page in your web development projects, you will help your site visitors have a well-designed site experience and help protect the files in your directory from vulnerabilities.
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