General
9 Step Tutor
Doctype Tag
The doctype tag is the first tag on any HTML page. <!DOCTYPE>
It is not actually an HTML tag , but rather an SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) declaration.
In the early days of the web it was used to tell a browser what version of HTML was used to build the page.
Today it tells a browser what media, HTML, XHTML or other, the page is built with.
It also tells a validator which version of media to use in checking the document's syntax.
If omitted the page will still work because the browser assumes a default value.
It is a good idea to include the tag, because browsers of the future could very well require it and it is required when validating web pages at the W3C.
How to use this website: If you've found this page you've got a good start. First get a brief overview of all the html tags and page sections that make up a web page built using HTML5.
To advance to the next logical lesson click the Next button on the bottom of each page. When you get to the footer tag page the Next button will take you to our 7 step tutor where you build a web page very similar to the first page in the #402 6 Page Template kit we give away.
Just a Suggestion We do recommend starting our tutor with a simple text editor and just copying and pasting code. When you get a feel for the process you may decide you're ready to speed things up using an HTML Editor. Windows users are in luck. We offer a free one on the bottom of this page and there are other free ones out there that are just as good. Linux users are stuck with Bluefish. Quirkie but it's free. Avoid Visual Studio for now; not recommended for beginners.
HTML5
HTML5 simplifies everything with:
<!DOCTYPE html>
The W3C states that the HTML5 doctype is case sensitive.
Next see: Basic HTML Page
Need more advanced information? Visit our Web Developer Resources page for a collection of other great tutorials and reference guides on the subjects of HTML5, CSS3, Responsive Design and SEO.