Your first HTML page

01The structure of a page

HTML describes the meaning and structure of content. CSS controls its presentation, and JavaScript adds behavior. A browser can open an HTML file directly.

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>My first page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Hello, web.</h1>
  <p>This is my first page.</p>
</body>
</html>

02What belongs where

The head holds document information: title, character encoding and linked styles. The body holds visible content. The lang attribute tells assistive technology the page language.

<head>
  <title>A useful browser-tab title</title>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Something worth reading.</p>
</body>

03Save it and open it

Create a file called index.html in your editor, paste the complete document, save it and open it in a browser. Save your edits and refresh to see changes. Check that the file is not accidentally named index.html.txt.

04Try it yourself

Change the heading and add a second paragraph.

Further reading

Use the MDN learning guides and HTML Living Standard for deeper explanations and current browser guidance.