Those For Dummies people put out several of them, so no, Virginia, HTML is not hard to learn. Hard coding, or basically writing HTML code in Notepad is a handy skill. It allows you to tweak pages after you ve created them in a web editor, and is completely necessary for accomplishing tasks web editors can t do. Or for accomplishing tasks web editors WON T do. Say you want a counter on your web page.
Most counters run off of cgi programs, which is yet another form of code.
It s handy to be able to open that page up in Notepad, insert your code and go about your business. What this means is the content of your site is what draws visitors, and keep them coming back for more. One advantage of creating your own site is you can update it anytime you wish. And a site that updates frequently will get more return visitors than a static site that never changes. So before you create your site, think about it.