This is the print version of http://www.quackit.com/html/tutorial/introduction.cfm
HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is a markup language used to create web pages. The web developer uses "HTML tags" to format different parts of the document. For example, you use HTML tags to specify headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, images and much more.
HTML is a subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and is specified by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
You don't need any special equipment or software to create HTML. In fact, you probably already have everything you need. Here is what you need:
If you want the best HTML editor, and you don't mind paying money for it, you can't go past Adobe Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver is probably the best HTML editor available, and you can download a trial version for starters.
If you don't have the cash to purchase an editor, you can always download a free one. Examples include SeaMonkey, Coffee Cup (Windows) and TextPad (Windows).
If you don't have an HTML editor, and you don't want to download one just now, a text editor is fine. Most computers already have a text editor. Examples of text editors include Notepad (for Windows), Pico (for Linux), or Simpletext/Text Edit/Text Wrangler (Mac).
No, you do not need to be online to create web pages. You can create web pages on your local machine. You only need to go online when you want to publish your web page to the web - this bit comes later.
The next lesson will show you how to create a web page in less than 5 minutes.
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