Master the basics of web development and hone your HTML and CSS skills in this free online programming course.

HTML is used globally to format web pages and CSS can lend them a certain look and feel. We establish the basics of the language and unpack the use of forms and tables with different HTML attributes. This code is necessary to correctly display text, images and other elements. We demonstrate how to set up a website environment by investigating the structure and format of an HTML document, thus enabling you to use tags and multimedia on your web pages.

Programming languages are more explicit than their spoken counterparts but you still have to master their syntax to succeed. HTML defines the structure and semantics of your content and CSS lays it out. Your stylesheet acts as a partner to your HTML code, taking care of all the design decisions of your site. We explore many aspects of styling web pages and you will soon be able to set up the correct file structure to edit text, add colors and create attractive layouts.

When laying out a web document, a browser's rendering engine represents each element as a rectangular box and CSS determines its size, position and properties. We will explain step by step how to use CSS box models and model HTML elements but doing so is not enough: you need to associate the CSS programming to the HTML code or your website will still be plain text on white backgrounds. To avoid this, we show you how to create a CSS rule for everything you want to style and how to associate your CSS with an HTML document. Lastly, you gain the ability to manipulate the placement of elements and tags for blocks and inline elements. This introductory course opens up the expanding world of web design as it empowers you to create, decorate and maintain your own corner of Cyberspace.