KISS HTML
You CAN write HTML code from scratch

The shortest web page in history:
Continuing the development


From the previous lesson, this is what you have on your page now.

<HTML>

</HTML>

HTML is written using special code. The codes <HTML> and </HTML> are called HTML tags.
These tags are universal Internet HTML code and give your browser instructions about viewing a web page. The tag always begins with a "less-than sign" or < and ends with a "greater than" sign or >.
When you open a tag, as above, you must also close the tag, using the forward slash: "/".
With one exception, the very first tag on a web page is the one above. It tells the Internet, and your browser, that there is HTML code to follow.
All www web pages must begin with <HTML> and end with </HTML> , as above.

Also note that, according to the HTML "rules", all web pages MUST have the following two tags, in the right place, on every web page.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 //EN">
and
<TITLE> </TITLE>

They do not show up (display) when viewing your page on the www, but they must be a part of your HTML code.
This is particularly important, as some of the large search engines, such as Yahoo and Lycos, use these tags to "catalog" your web page in their listings. Without this specific code, the search engines may not list your web page.
Being listed with the search engines can mean that your web page will receive thousands of visitors who otherwise might not know that your web page exists.
So, put them into your web page now.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 //EN">
<HTML>

<TITLE> </TITLE>

</HTML>

Note: Don't forget - in this tutorial, HTML tags are shown in the color red.

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HTML code rules have only recently been universally standardized and controlled. Originally developed in Switzerland by one man, it was 1997 before verson 3.2 was approved and the summer of 1998 before version 4.0 was accepted.
These HTML code "rules" state what is acceptable in HTML code.
As the first HTML statement on your web page,
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 //EN"> says that your web page is a public document, approved by the WWW Council (W3C) and is in compliance with the rules of "HTML rules, version 3.2."
<TITLE> </TITLE> will list the "title" of your web page.
More about the history of HTML and also web browsers can be found at a web site named, appropriately enough,
"Index DOT HTML".
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Search engines allow you to type in a name, or a subject, and find sources (web sites) on the www where that name or subject is discussed or explained. For example, if your web site is about bicycles, and someone types "bicycles" into a search engine, they can be told to go to your web page for more information.
Yahoo search engine can be found at
yahoo.com and Lycos search engine can be found at Lycos.com.
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