HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is the building block of the World Wide Web. Created in 1993, HTML provides web browsers with instructions on how to display web content including text, graphics, and links to other web pages. As such, HTML and the cascading style sheets (CCS) that govern design elements such as layouts, fonts, and colors are fundamentally important to structuring our daily online experiences across nearly 1 billion web pages (and counting!).
Just as today’s internet is vastly more complex than the internet of the 1990s, coding in HTML has become much more sophisticated. For example, responsive web design must ensure that pages display properly whether users access them on desktop computers, tablets, or mobile devices. Similarly, web accessibility requires pages to be designed to meet the needs of users with visual, audial, and cognitive impairments. JavaScript has also emerged as an important tool for creating interactive web experiences and applications to drive user engagement.
WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) services like Wix and Squarespace allow users without HTML skills to create simple websites based on pre-existing templates. However, web development professionals must be fluent in the latest tools including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to have the granular control over design elements and functionality required to create high-quality web pages to meet specific client needs.