Starting a personal blog site is very easy once the writer has his thoughts organized. There are a lot of available resources where one could sign-up for free without buying a domain. These sites also have a wide range of customizable templates to choose from. But what if the new blogger is not a very techie person? How would he achieve the appearance that he wants for his site? The answer lies in the basic understanding of web design: the HTML.
HTML by Definition
HTML is just the acronym for HyperText Markup Language. All the information that is displayed in a web page is mainly because of this language. Every computer recognizes HTML but the appearance of a web page still needs some formatting tools and may not be exactly the same with every browser. Take note though that HTML is NOT a programming language in itself but a markup language.
What is a Markup Language Then?
Simply put, markup languages give instructions to the computer on how to display the text, images, or any information on the web browser. A markup language is composed of a set of tags (markup tags) that describes the appearance or content of a web page. There are different markup languages but it is imperative for the new blogger to know the basics of HTML first since it is the benchmark of the other more complicated and more developed markup languages.
The New Blogger and HTML
Does a new blogger really need to know how to use HTML? The answer: Yes. Suppose he has a design in mind and he wants to tweak his site a little, what formatting tools will he use? How will the writer create that lasting first impression for his site? The solution always points to how he understands and makes use of his HTML knowledge. HTML is very easy to learn especially for starting bloggers. It doesn’t require any software and it is very useful. Unless the new blogger is into web design and development, then he really needs an extensive study of HTML and the other more advanced markup languages. A new blogger only needs to know the basics and the most commonly used tags to modify and improve his web page.
HTML Basics that the Blogger Must Know by Heart
As said earlier, HTML being a markup language requires markup tags. These are tags enclosed in angled brackets. It always comes in pairs: the start tag that is enclosed in angled brackets like <html>, and the end tag that is written with a forward slash before the tag name </html>. The contents in these tags are interpreted by the web browsers and display them as web pages. The general rule is that web browsers will not be able to interpret the html tag unless it has both a start tag and an end tag. So, it always has to come in pairs.
