Beginner's Guide to HTML & CSS 
Tags: webdev, html, css, codenewbie
Published: 2021-07-02 13:16:55

What is HTML?
-------------
 Hyper Text Markup Language commonly known as __HTML__, the standard markup language that is used for creating Web pages and Web applications. HTML  provides a description of the _structure/layout_ of a _web page_.

How it works?
-------------
 For a browser to correctly _render_ a web page, it must be __explicitly__ told what each piece of content is. This is where the markup language elements comes in use.
 We define the structure of _webpage/ web application_ by wrapping content in HTML elements. The __head__ element contains supporting information about the file, commonly referred to as metadata. There must be a __title__ (providing the webpage a title) directly underneath the __head__ element in order be complete. The _head_ element may also contain links to _Javascript files_ and _CSS stylesheets_. __body__ is the element that holds the information that is rendered by a web browser. There can be only one __body__ element within an HTML file.
```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Basic HTML Page </title>
</head>
<body>

<h1>First Heading</h1>
<p>First paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>
```

Features of Html:
-------------
1. HTML is __very__ __easy__ and **simple** and can be easily understood as a beginner.
2.HTML is useful to make an _effective presentation_ because it has a lot of formatting tags.
3. HTML can be displayed on any platform like __Windows__, __Linux__, and __Mac__ etc.
4.HTML is a case-insensitive language, which means we can use tags either in lower-case or upper-case.

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WHAT is CSS?
-------------
 _Cascading_ _Style_ _Sheets_ (CSS) describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on screen, paper, or in other media.  It is a style sheet language which is used to _enhance_ the look and _formatting_ of a document written in markup language. It provides an additional feature to HTML. It is generally used with HTML to change the style of web pages and _user_ _interfaces_. It can also be used with any kind of XML documents including plain XML, SVG and XUL.
```css
body {
  background-color: blue;
}

h1 {
  color: cyan;
  text-align: center;
}

p {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  font-size: 15px;
}
```

Why is it used?
-------------
1.If you are developing a large website where _fonts_ and _color _ information are added on every single page, it will be become a long and expensive process. CSS was created to solve this problem. It was a W3C recommendation.
2.CSS style definitions are saved in __external__ CSS files so the entire website look can be changed/modified by changing just the CSS file.
3.CSS provides more __attributes__ than plain markup language, it also makes websites appear visually appealing.

Online Resources to learn HTML & CSS for free:
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1.Freecodecamp.org
2.Codeacademy
3.Udacity
4.W3schools
5.linkedIN learning
Some of the helpful books:
-------------
1.Smashing CSS
2.Head First HTML and CSS
3.Styling with CSS
4.Learning Web Designs
5.Core HTML5 Canvas

Conclusion
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I hope it was helpful for you. Do comment for more.
My github :https://github.com/RajshreeVats