HTML Tutorial
Before you start designing your first web page, it is good to look for some kind of HTML tutorial. Although there are numerous programs designed to construct Web pages in visual (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) way, basic knowledge about HTML is very useful when something went wrong and you must correct problems. But before looking into a HTML tutorial you should read FAQ to get some answers.
What is HTML?
HTML is a computer language designed to tell your Web browser how to display a web page. HTML file is a simple text file that contains markup tags. Web browser interprets these tags and thus renders page. Part of any HTML tutorial is to show you how to use these tags to get specific effect, like inserting a paragraph into the text or making a selected text centered on the page.
What browser should I use for the Web page I've just created?
It is best to check your Web page with several browsers to see if the page is displayed correctly. Some browsers interprets markup tags differently, and thus using these tags can lead to unpredictable results. Generally, a good HTML tutorial describes tags that are interpreted correctly by most browsers available. However, the question of compatibility can be a serious issue, especially when we consider the fact, that the most popular web browser, the Internet Explorer, is in some manner, incompatible even with W3C standards. Moreover, older (but still-in-use) versions of current browsers also interpreted some tags differently, so it is pointless to try to attain a perfect compatibility.
Is HTML Windows-only feature? Can I run my Web page on Mac?
No and yes. HTML is independent to operating system you've installed on your computer. As you will see in any HTML tutorial, html is based on text tags, not binary data, and thus only your Web browser is responsible for interpreting it and rendering a resulting page. Do remember however, that html language allow using extensions like Java applets and ActiveX controls. Java applets can be used on any operating system if there is a Java virtual machine designed for that system (so, there is no problem for Mac users), but ActiveX controls can work only on Internet Explorer and thus should be considered as Windows-only feature. We recommend that you avoid using ActiveX controls unless absolute necessary.
I can't view the page I've made. What happened?
Check if you named file correctly. Do remember, that although Windows isn't case-sensitive, some other OS-es (like Linux) are, and treat file.html and File.html as different files. This will generate problems if your web-page consist of several files (and usually this is more than several) perfectly working page can be useless after uploading to the server. Every HTML tutorial uses strict convention use only small letters to avoid problems.
