Joor Loohuis' Pages

Entrance Level HTML

Disclaimer:

Names mentioned in these pages are owned by their respective owners.

Mentioning a particular brand name should not be construed as an advice to purchase a particular article. There probably is a good free alternative available anyway..

index

intro: about this course
basics: URLs, tags, attributes
tools: what's needed to create web pages
structure: general anatomy
text: getting the point across
linking: linking to other pages, mailto
tables: more than just data
lists: bringing order...
colors: adding depth
images: the finishing touch
limitations: speed, platforms
considerations: do's and don'ts, hints, ...
download: quick reference, lecture notes, ...
links: useful resources

intro

This course is aimed at anyone who

wants (or has) to create their own web pages
is familiar with text editing
has little or no experience using HTML
doesn't have the time to find out by trial and error

What you should realize is that this course is by no means a full tutorial for HTML 3.2. In stead, I try to introduce the language in such a way that anyone can create a well functioning set of web pages with only a small investment in time and effort. I use a mixture of actual HTML code explanation with background information, hoping that this will result in a better understanding. Consequently, I try to avoid the more complex issues, that I think are beyond what's required in the first stages of web design, or require additional expertise, such as scripting. I will also touch upon some of the limitations that should be taken into account, as well as hints and a few common pitfalls that most web authors learn by experience.

A deliberate choice is made for version 3.2, since at the time of this writing (June 8, 1998), the HTML 4 specifications have been published, but it may take a while before HTML 4 compliant browsers will have reached a broad installed base. On the other hand, most popular browsers will support HTML 3.2 for some time to come. In addition, it is my opinion that HTML 3.2 provides sufficient sophistication at low complexity, which makes it more useful as a learning tool.

Undoubtedly, I will skim over topics that should be discussed in depth, or vice versa. Please help me improve this course , and write me. Especially input from those for whom this course is intended is very important.

Joor Loohuis

At this time, I think you have decided whether you want to continue and enter the course or not. You might want to consider going to the download page first, and pick up a copy of the Quick Reference Card. I think you will find it useful. After that, it's probably best to start with the basics.

It might be that these pages really don't look right. Possible remedies include balancing your proportional and fixed fonts in size, and decreasing overall font sizes. I have encountered several 'mysterious' problems with Internet Explorer 3.0, in particular with table alignment and font sizes. Since these problems occur in HTML 3.2 compliant code, I cannot offer any solution (outside the obvious).

I will not guarantee that any of these pages will exist indefinately, so please only bookmark the top page.