Published on : 13 February 20236 min reading time
Creating a professional, user-friendly website optimized for high performance and digital experiences can be a complex undertaking, but the power of HTML and CSS simplifies the process. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, and it’s the foundational language for web design. CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a stylesheet language used to add style and formatting to HTML written documents. Together, HTML and CSS are indispensable tools for any website development project. If you want your website to look professional, function properly and adjust seamlessly in different browsers, understanding and mastering the basics of HTML and CSS is the key to success.
Exploring HTML Basics
Understanding and mastering basic HTML elements is the first step to successfully develop a high performance website. From headings and text to images and links, HTML is the fundamental language of the web. Starting with the basics gives you a solid foundation to work from and provides the knowledge to build on. An important aspect of HTML is understanding the syntax and formatting, as well as the available tags for structuring the content.
Including Essential Elements and Structuring Content
Creating the structure of a website begins with HTML. HTML enables you to add the essential elements of a webpage by using tags such as for the website’s headings, for the main content and for the webpage title. By using division tags such as and applying attributes like IDs and classes, the content can be appropriately segmented, providing an organized way to structure the content.
Questions and Answers on Common HTML Topics
- What is an attribute?
- What is an event handler?
- What is an image map?
- How do you create a hyperlink?
- What is inline and block-level formatting?
An attribute is a property of an HTML element that can contain values, such as an ID, class, src, or href. Event handlers are hooks that are used to check for and respond to user interaction with the HTML elements. An image map is a way of using one image as multiple links—when the user clicks various parts of the image, different links will be triggered. To create a hyperlink, you must use the anchor tag with the href attribute and set the value to the web address you want to link the user to. Inline and block-level formatting refer to how HTML is laid out on the page—inline elements take up only as much width as their content, while block-level elements take up the full width of the container.
Getting Started with CSS
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and bring visuals to life on the web. Essential for creating a polished, professional look for any website, CSS is part of what makes the web the vibrant and interactive medium it is today. With CSS, the website’s presentation can be determined by setting font, color and layout rules, or by linking to an external style sheet to keep the design process proper, organized and separate from the HTML.
Developing an Understanding of Basic CSS Syntax & Terminology
The primary rule of CSS is that you can only style elements that exist in the HTML. To apply styles properly, understanding basic CSS syntax and terminology is critical. For example, when applying font styles, the font-family: value indicates the typeface and font-style: indicates whether you want regular, bold or italic text. Understanding the different types of selectors and how they work is also essential. ID and class selectors reference HTML elements such as
or, while attribute selectors specifically target values, such as a link on a button.
Implementing Custom Styles & Formatting
Using CSS, custom styles and formatting options are plentiful. With the ability to customize text, backgrounds and borders, it’s possible to create anything from subtle and refined portfolio websites to bold and eye-catching portfolio websites—whatever is best suited for the website’s purpose. CSS also provides the ability to adjust the layout of the webpages using the CSS flex box model.
Creating & Including External Style Sheets for Your Website
To save time, it is much more efficient to store your custom CSS rules in one place—an external style sheet. This is a separate file which can be linked to any page or group of pages on the website. This makes it easy to apply the same set of styles across multiple pages with little effort. To call the external style sheet, you need to include a tag in the HTML section.
Design Best Practices & Considerations
When designing a website with HTML and CSS, there are certain best practices and considerations to keep in mind. The website should be accessible and optimized for SEO, read well and include relevant semantic markup to support interlinking between the webpages. The design should also be responsive, adapting to different viewport sizes, and consistent across devices and browsers. Implementing debugging tools can be an invaluable aid in troubleshooting website problems.
Optimizing for Web Accessibility & Usability
Creating an accessible website is an important factor in providing a great user experience. Web accessibility involves designing websites and web applications with consideration for all users, especially those with disabilities. HTML and CSS provide the tools for optimization, such as using descriptive link texts, properly formatting headings and using style sheets to make adjustments for people who rely on screen readers. Ensuring web pages are scannable and readable helps to keep visitors engaged with the content.
Finding Inspiration & Developing Creative Ideas
Finding creative ideas and inspiration for web design projects is often a challenge. An effective technique for generating creative ideas is to use an expert tool such as XMS, which is a web design platform that combines a large library of UI elements, ready-made user interfaces, prototyping tools, and design resources to help web designers create amazing projects in a short amount of time. With XMS, the web designer can innovate their website with powerful design elements, while still making sure it adheres to web design best practices.
Skillfully combining HTML and CSS with a high-performance mindset can result in an incredibly powerful web development experience. HTML and CSS are multi-faceted, with a variety of tags, attributes, and functions to master, but the basics and key concepts are easier to learn and understand than you might think. By understanding the fundamental aspects of HTML and CSS and following design best practices, web designers can improve their workflow and produce engaging, user-friendly websites.