What is a Website?
A website is a collection of web pages that are connected together, usually sharing a common design and purpose. Websites are written using HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and styled with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Often, JavaScript is added to make pages interactive.
The Basic Building Blocks
To build a website, you need to understand the three core technologies of the web:
- HTML – Defines the structure and content of your page.
- CSS – Controls the look, colors, fonts, and layout.
- JavaScript – Adds interactivity and dynamic behavior.
Minimal HTML Example
Here is the smallest valid HTML document:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>My First Web Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Hello, world!</p>
</body>
</html>
Type this into a text editor, save it as index.html, and open it in your browser.
Tools You’ll Need
You don’t need anything fancy to start—just a simple text editor and a web browser.
- Text editors: Notepad (Windows), Sublime Text, VS Code, etc.
- Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc.
Next Steps
In Lesson 2, we’ll dive deeper into HTML and learn about headings, paragraphs, and lists.