The fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
In recent years, web developers have used HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create interactive websites. These languages are used to design the look and feel of a website.
What is HTML?
-Hypertext Markup Language, commonly abbreviated as HTML, is the standard markup language used to create web pages. Along with CSS and JavaScript, HTML is a core technology used by most websites to create visually appealing web pages, user interfaces for web applications, and user interfaces for many mobile applications.
Web browsers receive HTML documents from a web server or local storage and convert them into multimedia web pages. HTML describes the structure of a Web page semantically and originally included guidance on how the document should look.
HTML elements are the building blocks of HTML pages. Using HTML constructs, images and other objects, such as interactive forms, can be embedded in the rendered page. It provides a way to create structured documents by indicating the structural semantics of text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotations and other elements. HTML elements are delimited by tags, written with square brackets.
Tags such as “img” and “input” introduce content directly into the page. Other tags, such as “p”, surround and provide information about the text of the document and may include other tags as sub-elements. Browsers do not display HTML tags, but use them to interpret the content of the page.
HTML can incorporate programs written in a scripting language.
What is CSS?
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a language used to describe the appearance of web page content. This includes colors, fonts, layout, etc. The styles you define in a CSS file can be applied to multiple pages.
In this track, you will learn how to use CSS to style websites. You’ll learn about the different properties you can use to change the appearance of a page and how these properties interact with each other.
You’ll start by adding color and simple layout changes to your own website. Next, you’ll change the layout of Wikipedia’s home page to make it look like a 1950s television (don’t worry, it will still work).
Next, you’ll learn about new HTML elements that allow you to build web pages with columns or boxes within boxes within columns. You’ll also learn how positioning works on the Web and how to use it for things like sticky headers or footers that stay at the top or bottom of the page even if you scroll.
Finally, you’ll learn more advanced techniques like pseudo-classes that allow you to apply styles only when a certain condition is true, such as when your mouse hovers over a link or an element has focus.
What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a cross-platform, object-oriented scripting language. It is a small and lightweight language. Within a host environment (for example, a web browser), JavaScript can be connected to objects in its environment to provide programmatic control.
JavaScript contains a standard library of objects, such as Array, Date and Math, and a set of basic language elements such as operators, control structures and statements. Basic JavaScript can be extended for a variety of purposes by supplementing it with additional objects, for example:
Client-side JavaScript extends the core language by providing objects to control a browser and its document object model (DOM). For example, client-side extensions allow an application to place elements on an HTML form and respond to user events such as mouse clicks, form entry, and page navigation.
Server-side JavaScript extends the core language by providing objects relevant to running JavaScript on a server. For example, server-side extensions allow an application to communicate with a database, provide continuity of information from one invocation of the application to the next, or perform file manipulation on a server.
In 1994, Netscape Communications hired Brendan Eich to integrate the Scheme programming language into its Netscape Navigator.
How do they work together?
There are three core components of any website:
- HTML (the Hypertext Markup Language) for structure
- CSS (the Cascading Style Sheet) for presentation
- JavaScript for behavior
HTML is all about structure; it defines the basic layout of a web page by using various tags such as headings, paragraphs, images, hyperlinks, tables, lists, etc.
CSS is used to apply styles to web pages—colors, backgrounds, fonts, layout, and more—to create visually engaging sites. This language describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on screen.
JavaScript brings web pages to life; it provides dynamic interaction with the user and makes a webpage feel like a desktop application. This language can update content on your page without reloading it from the server and allows you to validate user input before sending the page back to the server.
When should I use them?
First of all, you should always use HTML for the layout of your website. That’s what it’s for!
CSS is only used to modify the appearance of your website (fonts, colors, etc.).
JavaScript is used to add functionality to your website. You can use it to hide or show content, create new HTML elements, etc.
Here are some examples:
You want to change the font on your website. Use CSS.
You want to add a button where something happens when you click on it. Use JavaScript.
You want to add a paragraph to your website that says “Welcome!” Use HTML or JavaScript.
If you have any recommendations, please share them in the comments below, on social media, or email our team directly. We’d love to hear from you.