HTML is not a programming language, but rather a markup language. If you already know XML, then HTML will be a snap for you to learn. We urge you not to attempt to blow through this tutorial in one sitting. We recommend that you spend 15 minutes to an hour a day practicing HTML and then take a break, to let the information settle in. We aren't going anywhere!

Preparation for HTML
Creating an HTML document is easy. To begin coding HTML you need only two things: a simple-text editor and the dedication to follow our tutorial! Notepad is the most basic of simple-text editors and you will probably code a fair amount of HTML with it.

If you are new to HTML and haven't read through the Beginner's Tutorial, please take a few minutes to complete that tutorial before moving on.

Brief HTML Background
HTML has not been around for many years. November 1990 marks the day of the first web page and back then there were little to no HTML standards to be followed. A group called the World Wide Web Consortium was then formed and have since set the standards that are widely accepted and we will base our teachings around them.

Web Pages
Web pages have many uses. Here are some important facts about why web pages are so useful.

• A cheap and easy way to spread information to a large audience.
  
• Another medium to market your business.
  
• Let the world know about you with a personal website!
  

Words to Know
[fontads]Tag[/fontads] - Used to specify ("mark-up") regions of HTML documents for the web browser to interpret. Tags look like this: <tag>
[fontads]Element [/fontads]- A complete tag, having an opening <tag> and a closing </tag>.
[fontads]Attribute [/fontads]- Used to modify the value of the HTML element. Elements will often have multiple attributes.

For now just know that a tag is a command the web browser interprets, an element is a complete tag, and an attribute customizes or modifies HTML elements.