We used blockquotes to formulate indents. Table structures meant for displaying data were and are still exploited for layout purposes. One has to know how all the pieces of the puzzle fit. Yet, if you took a snapshot of present day Web development means you'd see software applications with the specific purpose of creating for the Web. A lot has changed.
Information architecture is amazingly crucial.
Years ago, you'd have a Web developer design the site and then chop up the graphics and write the code. You might also have programmers who wrote CGI scripts for mail forms to the e-commerce backend that handled online credit card transactions. I'm only lightly touching on the many positions and their respective job titles that have cropped up over the years. I'm sure you could come with your own bag of titles. If you want to build a cool Web site, you can do it by yourself.