Learn HTML: Best Courses, Books, and Resources for Learning HTML

Whether you’re interested in building your own websites or pursuing a career as a web developer, coding HTML is an essential skill. Fortunately, there are plenty of online courses, books, and tutorials for every type of learner, from the absolute beginner to the skilled coder.

Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, is one of the three core technologies that power almost every single website on the Internet. HTML allows web designers and developers to define the structure of their websites and bring their ideas to life. Using HTML, developers decide where certain elements like text or images should appear on a web page.

HTML is not just for technical people who are looking to learn web development. The language can be used in a wide variety of other contexts. For instance, many drag-and-drop web design platforms give their users the ability to use HTML. If you want more freedom to customize your page, knowing how to learn HTML is a great asset.

If you have been wondering how to learn HTML coding, then this guide is for you. We’ll discuss the best way to learn HTML through online resources and self-study books. We’ll also give you a clear set of next steps to help you get started learning HTML.

What Is HTML?

HTML is the programming language used to define the structure of a website. HTML coding is how web developers make text, images, links, and other multimedia elements appear on a web page. While technologies like CSS allow you to style a web page, HTML is the tool used to build the blueprint for how a page should appear on a website.

The basic concept of HTML is that “tags” are used to create the structure of a website. These tags allow you to create headers, videos, images, and other dynamic elements that will appear on a web page. Here are a few examples of HTML tags that you may encounter:

• <p> allows you to create a paragraph of text.
• <h1> allows you to create a large heading.
• <iframe> allows you to embed the contents of another website, like a YouTube video, onto a web page.

Most tags have a starting tag (like “<p>”), and an ending tag (like “</p>”). Once you’ve mastered these tags, there is no limit to how complex the structure of your websites can be. HTML coding is one of the keys to responsive web design.

Why Should You Learn HTML?

If you want to become a web developer, you will absolutely need to know HTML to get a job. But why learn HTML if you use drag-and-drop website editors for your business or hobby? You should learn HTML because it will give you more control over website design, especially if you are trying to build a responsive website.

HTML and CSS are the building blocks of the internet

HTML and CSS are the two most fundamental programming languages used in web development. Without them, we would not have websites. Knowing how to code in HTML and CSS will give you a clear insight into how the internet works. You’ll be able to better understand how the websites you use every day are built.

Have you ever wondered how websites can show colored text, or how a website can include a YouTube video? If you know how to code in HTML and CSS, you won’t have to wonder. You’ll know all the basic parts of how a website is built.

HTML and CSS can help you get better at your existing job

But if you don’t want to become a web developer, why should you learn HTML? If you are a marketer, knowing how a web page is built allows you to design more effective marketing campaigns. Or if you are an SEO expert, knowing about website structures can help you refine your strategy. HTML and CSS are good skills for any job that involves working with the web.

Are you responsible for customer success? You could use your HTML knowledge to design a more effective email to send to customers. Or are you responsible for sales? You could use HTML to design a custom form that can be placed on your company’s website.

Web developers are in demand

When deciding on what skill to build, the question “should I learn HTML to help me in my career?” will likely pop up in your mind. Learning HTML and CSS can help you break into a career in tech as a web developer or a web designer.

HTML is in demand for front end developers, full stack developers, and UI/UX designers in particular. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in web development will increase by 13 percent by 2030. The Bureau describes this growth as “much faster than average.”

What Is HTML Used For?

In short, HTML is used for formatting the text, images, and other media that make up a web page. The language communicates with the computer using a series of class attributes and multimedia elements inside opening tags (<>) and closing tags that use angle brackets and a forward slash (</>).

HTML has evolved and now enables web pages to host videos, sound, and more. However, it’s important to note that HTML can’t make a functional web page by itself. The programming language is commonly used with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and JavaScript. These languages define the styles and interactive features on a site.

How Long Does it Take to Learn HTML?

It doesn’t take long to learn HTML. Most new programmers can learn the basics of HTML within two to three weeks. However, daily practice is necessary to become proficient in the language and to understand its full potential. Most programmers recommend practicing for about 2-4 hours a day.

You can learn the basics of HTML in two to three weeks, but how long does it take to learn advanced HTML skills? HTML has a lot of features, there are even HTML frameworks that extend the language by providing template components for your websites.

You should expect it will take at least a year to become ready for a “professional” web developer job. But, your learning will never be over. HTML is still being updated today. There are hundreds of tags and advanced attributes that you can learn about.

Most people learn by doing, so it’s important to put your new skills into practice as soon as you can. Follow the Nike creed and “just do it.” You can format a web page, experiment with features, write image code, or work on projects to strengthen your abilities.

How to Learn HTML Fast

To learn HTML fast, you can use more intensive resources like HTML coding bootcamps. Most bootcamps run from three to six months, and you can take a part-time or full-time course to go from absolute beginner to competent HTML coder.

If you already know some basic HTML concepts, try following along with advanced tutorials. Set a schedule and commit 10 hours a week to learning advanced topics in HTML. You can also look to online forums like Stack Overflow or Reddit to get code examples that you can modify on your own to practice.

How to Learn HTML

How do you learn to code in HTML? This is a question all beginners face at some point. Even if you already know how to code, it can be difficult to know where to start to learn HTML. Let’s explore a few of the steps you should follow to help you start your journey to learning HTML efficiently and effectively.

Step 1: Start with the basics

The best thing you can do when starting to learn HTML is to master the basic HTML tags. Then, when you feel ready, you can pursue more complex technical concepts with confidence.

Your first goal when learning HTML should be to master the basics. Look for HTML beginner tutorials, even if you already know how to write lines of code in another popular coding language. Once you’re ready for a challenge, you can start taking on more advanced projects. To help you start off on the right foot, here is a list of the main topics you should focus on:

• HTML structure and tags
• HTML elements
• HTML attributes
• HTML tables
• HTML forms
• Adding styles to an HTML page

Step 2: Build a project

After you start to learn HTML coding, working on a project is a great way to reinforce the skills you have learned and put them into practice. After you’ve done all the essential reading on how a respected website is built, you’ll want to start working on a project that interests you.

The first step to building a project is to ask yourself: What should I build? There really is no wrong answer to this question. Ask about the problems you face in your day-to-day life. Then, try to think of how you can create a solution to the problem using code. Do you always forget something when you go to the store? You could build a shopping list app.

Whatever project you choose, you should make sure it’s something that you want to work on. After all, it is your project! Here are a few ideas to help you get started thinking about what you could build:

• A portfolio with your web development projects
• A site to share US political campaign donation lists
• A portfolio site for a photographer
• A website for a local coffee shop or museum
• A reference site for your favorite card game

These are only a few of the many project ideas you could build. The only limit to what you can create is your own imagination. That’s the beautiful thing about learning how to code in HTML. When you master the basics, you can build anything! The same rules that are used to build simple websites are also those used to build more complex websites, too.

Step 3: Join a developer community

Think about how many respected websites are out there. This will give you an idea of just how many talented web developers there are in the web development community. These are professionals who know all the tricks for how to learn HTML.

When you’re getting started on your journey to learning to code in HTML, joining a web developer community is a great idea. Developer communities bring together developers of all experience levels with whom you can talk, share ideas, and collaborate on projects together.

Are you unsure where to start? Here are a few communities that are great for new web developers:

• Stack Overflow: A technical Q&A community. This site has no shortage of discussions about HTML which you could find helpful.
• GitHub: A code sharing platform for storing and posting your code. If you ever get stuck for inspiration, there are plenty of “beginners project lists” you can view to help you find new ideas.
• Dev.to: A community for developers of all kinds. Dev.to has dedicated community areas for HTML and CSS language coders which are great for all developers, from novices to experts.

Once you’ve joined a community or two, start contributing as soon as you can. Do you know the solution to someone’s anchor element problem? Write a code example and share it. Do you need help with a complex bullet-pointed table? Ask a question on a platform like Stack Overflow.

Step 4: Ask for feedback and research best practices

One great way to develop your HTML skills is to research best practices for writing clean code. These are the conventions used by other developers when they write their code. Coding best practices are valued by other developers who may want to look at your code and prospective employers.

When you think you’ve mastered coding best practices, ask for feedback. Finished a project, and ask your friends to rate it and give you a few comments. If you don’t know any technical friends who can help, share your project in a community like Dev.to and ask for feedback. To really learn HTML coding, you need to know what kinds of mistakes you make when writing lines of code.

Step 5: Practice makes perfect

You’ll likely have heard this before, practice makes perfect. When you’re learning how to code in HTML, it can be easy to find excuses to give up. Sometimes a project doesn’t go your way, and you’ll think that it is easier to just stop than to keep going. 

Frustration is a natural part of learning how to code. The key to how to learn HTML is not to give up and keep practicing. If you try hard and keep going though, you’ll be able to refine your skills and go on to build respected websites.

You can practice your skills by following online tutorials, taking a course, and working on projects. Or, you could work on code challenges from sites like Codecademy and freeCodeCamp. If you’re up for a real challenge, scroll through Stack Overflow HTML questions and try to help other beginner developers solve the problems they are facing.

HTML Basics: Master HTML Fundamentals

There are plenty of topics to cover in HTML, but HTML coding basics boil down to a few key categories. Once you understand tags, elements, attributes, tables, and forms, you will have enough basic knowledge of HTML to build your own web page.

HTML Structure and Tags

The first thing you should learn about HTML documents is the structure of web pages and how web pages are created. This will give you a clear indication of how a web page comes together. This is an insight you’ll need to have for every website you build.

Once you’ve learned the structure of a web page, you can go on to explore basic tags. Tags are used to add features to a web page. Here are the main topics you should learn when it comes to HTML structure:

• How is a web page structured?
• HTML headings (<h1>, <h2>… <h6>)
• The <div> tag
• Presenting text using <p> and <span>
• Styling text
• Ordered and unordered lists (<ol> and <ul>)
• Adding image files (<img>)
• Adding videos (<iframe>, <video>)

HTML Elements

In HTML, elements are designators that define the structure and content of the objects in your website. They have a range of functions, such as creating headers, paragraphs, and links.  You will be able to recognize an element by its opening and closing tag. Some common types of elements are dynamic elements, figure elements, anchor elements, and multimedia elements.

HTML Attributes

Once you have a basic understanding of HTML elements, you can use attributes to provide more information about an element. You can use popular attributes like id attributes that identify an element, class attributes that classify an element, and href attributes or basic link attributes that provide a web address to a linked source.

Attributes are used within tags. For example, “<a href =http://www.careerkarma.com/”> Career Karma </a> will create a hyperlink that brings users to the Career Karma homepage when they click on a line of text that reads “Career Karma.”

HTML Tables

Often, when you’re designing a website, you’ll want to display a table of data. For instance, if you’re building a website for a school, you may want to display the school’s schedule on the website in a basic table.

HTML offers a number of tags that you can use to create custom tables, which are an essential part of many modern websites. Here are the main HTML coding basics for tables you should learn about:

• Creating a table
• Table rows and table headings
• Table data
• Table borders
• Spanning columns and rows
• Table head, body, and footer

HTML Forms

Forms are another common feature on many websites that allow sites to collect information from their users. For instance, a website may have a “contact us” form that allows users to submit a comment to the site.

HTML forms can include drop-down menus, single-line text boxes, large text boxes, checkboxes, and other types of form fields. Here are the main topics you should learn about when you’re starting to learn HTML forms:

• Form design and data collection
• Creating different types of form questions like radio buttons, text boxes, and checkboxes
• Using name attributes and label elements
• Directing form submission with action and method attributes

Adding Styles to an HTML Page

So far, we’ve talked about how to use HTML coding basics to develop the structure of a web page. But if you want to add custom styles to a web page, you need to use another technology: Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS.

CSS allows you to apply styles to HTML elements on a web page. These styles determine how those elements appear in the user’s web browser. For instance, you can change the color of a line of text using CSS, apply a border to a table, or change border color.

Here are a few of the main topics you should learn:

• Best practices for CSS language coders
• Inline CSS
• Internal vs external CSS
• How to write a CSS style rule

Then, once you’ve learned these topics, you can explore element-specific CSS styles, like how to style display tables or how to style a heading.

Best Way to Learn HTML

In this guide, we’ve discussed the basic topics that you need to know in order to code in HTML. But now you’ll be wondering “where can I learn about these topics?” Everyone has their own learning style. There is no one place you should go to look for support as you start learning how to code, and you should explore a few of the best ways to learn HTML.

For most people, interactive courses or detailed tutorials are a good option for learning HTML. These learning methods give you an immersive look at programming in HTML. You can learn the theory and put your skills into practice. At the end of an online tutorial, for example, you should have a tangible project that you can show off to others.

Online HTML Courses

One of the best ways to learn HTML online is to take an HTML coding course. The best online HTML courses will teach you how to write clean code through a combination of video lessons and assignments. Look for a course with a lively discussion board and instructor or TA office hours to make sure you’ll get your HTML questions answered.

Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS by Udemy

• Cost: $109.99
• Audience: Beginners

This course covers a wide range of HTML and CSS topics in eleven hours of class videos, from using HTML to include image files to making sure your website looks good on multiple browsers. If you code along with the pre-recorded videos, by the end of this course, you’ll have created a live website that works on both computers and mobile devices.

Structuring Content with HTML by eCornell

• Cost: $1,199
• Audience: HTML beginners with a basic understanding of website design

This HTML coding class is for students who want a deep understanding of how HTML works. Students will learn the usual HTML basics, but they will also develop mental models for how HTML fits into the web design process. This is a two-week class led by a Cornell instructor, and it’s part of a sequence of courses for eCornell’s Web Design Certificate program.

HTML and CSS by UCLA Extension

• Cost: $995
• Audience: Beginners

This class is a complete HTML training for complete beginners, and it covers CSS topics too. Content is taught through recorded video lessons, and students get feedback on graded assignments to help assess their learning progress. While this isn’t a live HTML coding class, there is an active discussion board on the online learning platform and instructors are easy to reach.

Free HTML Courses

You don’t have to pay to learn HTML because there are plenty of free HTML courses available online. Free online HTML courses are usually less formal than paid options. There won’t be an instructor or TA to answer your questions and no graded assignments to check your learning progress. However, if you are motivated and have good study skills, a free class is a good way to learn HTML.

Learn HTML by Codecademy

• Audience: Beginners

Over 5.2 million people have enrolled in Codecademy’s Learn HTML course since the course started. In this course, you’ll learn about the most commonly used tags in HTML and how to use them to build a website.

Introduction to HTML5 by the University of Michigan on Coursera

Audience: Beginners

This course aims to teach the HTML fundamentals you need to create a web page. You’ll explore the theory behind how websites work and acquire practical knowledge of the HTML programming language by working through examples.

HTML5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices by W3C on edX

• Audience: Intermediate

This course, offered by the W3C, teaches all the basics of HTML5. You’ll learn all the new HTML5 tags and see how HTML has evolved from its first version to what it is today. You’ll also learn about animations, forms, and graphics. You need to be comfortable with HTML coding basics to take this free online HTML course.

Online HTML Coding Bootcamps

The best HTML bootcamps are designed to take you from complete HTML beginner to web design professional in three to six months, and many are available completely online. You can even take a part-time program while still working full-time. Another benefit of coding bootcamps is the career coaching services that help bootcamp grads land jobs in new career paths.

To get the most out of your HTML bootcamp, you should take the time to prepare for a coding bootcamp. While bootcamps are designed for absolute beginners, students who take the time to study basic topics beforehand get more out of their bootcamp experience.

Flatiron School

• Course: Product Design Bootcamp
• Cost: $16,900
• Audience: Future UX/UI developers

This design course teaches students UX/UI development from researching user needs to creating a product with HTML and CSS. This course is a good fit for creative thinkers who need to learn HTML coding to achieve a certain layout style, but who aren’t as interested in the backend workings of a website.

UC Berkeley Extension

• Course: Berkeley Coding Bootcamp
• Cost: $13,495
• Audience: Future full stack developers

Students will learn how to build the front end and backend of websites from scratch using HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and more. During their studies, students will work on web design projects that they can put in their professional portfolios. Berkeley bootcamp students learn from instructors, teaching assistants, and tutors, and students also have access to career services.

Devmountain

• Course: Web Development Bootcamp
• Cost: $9,900
• Audience: Future front end web developers

The Devmountain online coding bootcamp teaches students how to build websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. At the end of the program, students will have a robust professional portfolio of web development projects that they completed during the bootcamp course. Devmountain offers plenty of student support and career services. 

Online HTML Books

This book is a complete introduction to the HTML and CSS languages. You’ll learn everything you need to know to build a web page. This book provides detailed examples to accompany the text as well as graphics to help you understand how HTML tags appear on a page.

HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Duckett

This book is a complete introduction to the HTML and CSS languages. You’ll learn everything you need to know to build a web page. This book provides detailed examples to accompany the text as well as graphics to help you understand how HTML tags appear on a page.

A Smarter Way to Learn HTML & CSS by Mark Myers

This book helps you learn the basics of HTML. Readers are encouraged to follow a range of coding examples and challenges to help reinforce their knowledge. By the end of reading this book, you’ll have a firm understanding of how to build a web page.

HTML5 and CSS3 All-in-One for Dummies by Andy Harris

This book in the For Dummies series focuses on writing websites in HTML and CSS. Unlike other books, this one also touches on JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL, so you can learn the skills you need to create a full-stack web application.

Online HTML Resources

Other online HTML resources range from basic tutorials on class attributes to advanced discussions of unordered lists. When you dive into online resources for HTML, you’ll find code sharing platforms, YouTube videos, and entire websites devoted to helping absolute beginners learn HTML.

These resources range from short tutorials to full courses. They cover all the essential topics you’ll need to master to learn how to code in HTML. After you’ve learned the basics, you’ll be ready to start working on your own projects.

Learn HTML

Learn HTML is a website that claims to be “the easiest way to learn HTML and CSS.” This site has a range of beginner tutorials and advanced tutorials that you can use to learn HTML. You’ll also find useful CSS tutorials.

W3Schools HTML Tutorial

W3Schools is widely known for its detailed tutorials on web development topics. You’ll find detailed and concise guides that cover everything from HTML formatting to semantics. W3Schools has a new free feature called “My Learning” that helps you track your learning progress.

Codecademy HTML Cheatsheets

Cheatsheets from Codecademy are information-dense web pages that define common terms and give examples for a wide range of basic software and programming languages. One cheatsheet gives a brief primer on all of the major HTML tags that you’re likely to use. You can use this cheat sheet as a reference or as a way to expand your knowledge of HTML tags.

Are Coding Bootcamps a Good Way to Learn HTML?

If you want to become a web developer, you should really consider attending a web development coding bootcamp. Coding bootcamps are a great way to learn HTML, especially for students who like to work in groups, need the structure of assignments with deadlines, and want instant feedback on their learning progress.

To be clear, you’re going to be learning a lot in addition to HTML. A web development bootcamp will take you from learning how a browser works to building actual applications that interact with databases and servers. In the process, you’ll write hundreds of lines of code and complete several projects that you show off to potential employers.

Coding bootcamps also come with a strong set of student services, from one-on-one tutoring to career services. Some bootcamps even have a job placement guarantee, where students don’t have to pay any tuition until they find a job after graduating from bootcamp. Not only are bootcamps a good way to learn HTML, but they will also help you launch a new career.

Should I Learn HTML?

Yes, you should learn HTML because HTML, alongside CSS and JavaScript, is one of the core building blocks of most modern websites. As a result, there is a massive community of developers out there who know how to code in HTML. There are plenty of online courses, detailed tutorials, and written guides available to help you master the basics.

Learning how to code in HTML is a valuable use of your time in a world that is dominated by the internet. HTML is a great language to invest in learning for aspiring web developers. Your first focus when learning HTML should be on structure, syntax, and using basic tags like <p> and <img>. Then, you can go on to explore tables, forms, and connecting HTML and CSS.

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