HTML Guides: In-Depth Articles for Beginners
Lessons teach one idea at a time. These 8 guides step back and show how the ideas connect: what HTML really is, how a page is built, how to choose the right element, and what HTML does for accessibility and search. They are based on primary sources such as the WCAG 2.2 guidelines (opens in a new tab) and Google's own documentation. Each one is a longer read with examples, answers to common questions and links to the lessons where you can practice. Read them next to the course, or on their own when you want the big picture before you write any code.
What is HTML, and what does a browser do with it?
HTML in plain English: what the letters stand for, how a browser turns tags into a page, what elements and attributes are, and a first page you can write in ten minutes.
9 min read
HTML vs CSS vs JavaScript, and what each one does
HTML vs CSS vs JavaScript with one quiz card built three times, a layer at a time, so you can see what each language adds. Plus a comparison table and which to learn first.
8 min read
How to make a website with HTML, from empty folder to live site
Build a two-page bakery website by hand: pick an editor, set up a folder, write index.html, add photos, links and one CSS file, test it on a phone and publish it for free.
10 min read
How long does it take to learn HTML? About six weeks, and here is the plan
How long does it take to learn HTML? One hour to a first page, two weeks for the basics, six weeks to be comfortable. A week-by-week plan with free lessons and projects.
9 min read
Semantic HTML explained with before-and-after examples
Semantic HTML with real examples: the landmark elements, article vs section, rewriting a page of div soup, and what meaningful tags do for accessibility and SEO. Checklist included.
9 min read
HTML for SEO, from the title tag to structured data
The HTML that affects search in 2026 and the parts that do not: title tags, meta descriptions, headings, links, alt text, canonical, Open Graph and JSON-LD, myths included.
10 min read
An HTML accessibility checklist for beginners (WCAG 2.2)
A WCAG 2.2 checklist for the parts of accessibility you control in HTML: lang, headings, alt text, labels, keyboard, focus, contrast and ARIA, plus a 5-minute keyboard test.
10 min read
20 HTML best practices for clean, valid code
Twenty rules we apply to every HTML file: doctype, lang, charset, semantic tags, alt text, labels, file names and W3C validation, each with a short code example.
9 min readFrequently asked questions
Should I read the guides or do the lessons first?
Either order works. Lessons are the quickest way to start writing code, since you practice from the first minute. The guides add context: open one when you want to know why something works, or to review a topic after you finish a module. On search topics they stick to what Google Search Central (opens in a new tab) documents, and leave SEO folklore out.
Are the guides up to date with current HTML?
Yes. They follow the current HTML Living Standard (opens in a new tab), the version every modern browser implements. Each guide shows the date of its last update. Outdated practices, such as using tables for layout, come up only so we can explain why you should avoid them.
Where can I practice what the guides explain?
In the related lessons linked from every guide, where an automatic checker tests your code. You can also copy any example into the playground and change it to see what happens. When you want to test yourself afterwards, pick one of the challenges.