HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is a markup language used to structure web content, including headings, paragraphs, lists, links, images, and multimedia elements. Although it is not a programming language, HTML provides the browser with instructions on how to display content. Over the years, HTML has evolved from HTML 2.0 in 1995 to modern HTML5 (2014), which supports multimedia, semantic tags, and advanced web APIs, reflecting the growing capabilities of web development.

An HTML element consists of an opening tag, content, and a closing tag, with optional attributes for extra information. Self-closing tags, like or , do not require separate closing tags, while comments can be added to make code more readable. A standard HTML5 document includes the declaration, the root, a section for metadata and scripts, and a section containing the page content.

HTML allows the creation of structured content with headings (

–

), paragraphs (

), and lists (

and
• ). Text formatting and semantic elements, such as , ,

  , and , improve clarity, accessibility, and search engine optimization. Hyperlinks are implemented with the tag, while images, audio, and video are embedded directly using HTML5 tags. Tables organize data into rows and columns, and forms allow user input with various controls, including text fields, radio buttons, checkboxes, and buttons. HTML5 also offers specialized input types, such as email, url, number, date, and color, along with built-in validation features to ensure correct data entry.

  HTML elements can be block-level (starting on a new line) or inline (remaining on the same line), and they can be grouped using

  , , or semantic tags like

  ,