HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, the language for describing the structure of web pages.
The design of HTML consists of two parts: the head and the body.
- the head tells the browser's information
- the body contains the specific content to be described.
What is CSS?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, the language for describing the presentation of web pages.
To make the webpage more beautiful and dynamic, you have to use CSS.
If you want to build a house, you need:
Bricks (HTML) to build the structure of your house
Paint (CSS) to make your house beautiful
How long does it take to learn HTML and CSS?
Learning basic HTML+CSS doesn’t take long, but learning to use them well does take some time. You can quickly grasp their basic tags and labels in about one or two hours.
But if you want to learn advanced HTML and CSS animations, then it will take more time.
I honestly can’t say precisely how many hours you’ll need to put in, but the chances are you’ll have to keep learning for as long as you keep designing.
To master HTML and CSS, you have to commit to lifelong learning because all these fields are vast. The more you try, the more you will learn.
But to get you started, here are a few reliable resources for learning basic HTML and CSS.
Where to learn the basics of HTML?
W3schools may very well be the best website for getting started with HTML. Its content covers basic HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and more. All the chapters are simple, with examples and interactive tests.
I am not exaggerating — I have been learning HTML for a while, and I have to say that this website is my favorite.
For beginners, W3Schools has structured tutorials and playgrounds that offer a decent learning experience.
The best part is all the tutorials are free!
Best HTML tutorials for beginners
HTML.com
It is a website created specifically for beginners who want to learn HTML. It covers everything you need to know about HTML.
Follow their step-by-step tutorials, and you will have the HTML knowledge to build your first website in a few minutes — not hours!
The website also has a complete list of each attribute and tag used in HTML, plus the latest additions in HTML5.
You can click to view the details of each property, code examples, and other elements.
Learn HTML
This one is another interactive online tutorial website for learning HTML. The content covers HTML and CSS and programming language tutorials such as Python, Ruby, JavaScript, and C++.
The basic tutorial will guide you through creating a page using the Bootstrap CSS framework.
HTML cheat sheet
HTML has come a long way since Tim Berners-Lee invented it in 1991. HTML5 is the latest version supported by modern web browsers.
This HTML cheat sheet has a full list of all HTML elements, including descriptions, code examples, and live previews.
You can scroll down to browse all HTML tags by their category or download it as a PDF.
Free HTML courses for beginners
freeCodeCamp
freeCodeCamp is one of the best free online courses to learn HTML and CSS. The learning method is exciting. It does not provide traditional programming instructional videos.
Instead, it disassembles the original complex course into straight sections, guiding users through various small tips. You have to enter the correct code on the command line, which completes the entire learning process.
By allotting a bit of time for practice every day, you can quickly gain mastery over your chosen programming language.
Udacity
Udacity offers online video tutorials with a dedicated instructor to explain the basics of HTML and CSS.
Free courses do not have certificates, project views, and career coaching. But if you want to learn basic HTML, free courses are just enough.
Best CSS tutorial for beginner
Tutorialspoint for CSS
Tutorialspoint provides everything you need to know about CSS. It covers tutorials from basic introductions to high-level CSS techniques, as well as complete tutorials on CSS3.
Also, there are many CSS tools and CSS learning resources for your reference. It’s a very comprehensive resource for learning CSS.
CSStutorial.net
The website consist of 3 main parts:
- Introduction to CSS — It covers the basics and some neat development techniques.
- A complete CSS tutorial is very comprehensive and gives you a solid foundation for CSS programming. You can use it right away in your web design work!
- Other CSS resources — Articles about CSS web design and an active CSS forum where you can ask questions
After going through these three sections, you can create a pure CSS web page.
Murach’s HTML5 and CSS3, 4th Edition
This book is a great place to start for people learning HTML or CSS. It shows you how to combine basic concepts with building the most common things people want in a website, such as multi-level menus.
While online resources make it easy to learn, reading this comprehensive book is also necessary. It compiles and organizes the scattered resources you find online — all in one handy reference.
Conclusion
We all know that reading articles or watching some YouTube videos isn’t enough. We have to practice as much as we can. The above courses cover all the knowledge that beginners need to learn HTML and CSS.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter what industry you are working in. If you want to master technology, continuous learning and persistence is the only route to success.
Whether you want to be a unicorn UX/UI designer or front-end developer, the HTML and CSS tutorial and courses I’ve shared will get you where you want to go. I hope they’ll help you as much as they offer.