Almost anyone who has written anything online has come across a time when they wished their text or images looked…well, different, at least. Whether you’re using Squarespace, WordPress, Wix or another CMS, a little background in HTML can do wonders for the visual quality of your content. If you’re struggling to get started with HTML, we have you covered with a short primer on HTML basics for the HTML beginner.

What does HTML stand for? HTML means hypertext markup language. It basically describes the structure of webpages using markup.

HTML is comprised of elements. Each HTML element is a building block of a webpage. Elements are represented by tags, which label pieces of content such as paragraphs, headings and tables.

HTML tags generally come in pairs. The first tag in the pair is the start tag, and the last the end tag. Most tags come in pairs because for every open tag, you’ll need to close it to let the browser know you are stopping one type of content and beginning another.

There are many different versions of HTML, beginning in 1991 with HTML. In 2014, HTML5 was introduced. There isn’t much a beginner needs to worry about when it comes to the various types of HTML.

To get started using HTML, you can start to view your CMS editor in text, rather than visual, mode. You’ll see the HTML that your content is built upon, and you can start to edit your content from there.

Example HTML tags include:

– <b>, which bolds the copy you select. For example, This is a statement with a word that is <b>bolded</b>.

-<i>, which italicizes the copy you select. For example, This is a statement with a word that is <i>italicized</i>.

– <p>, which creates a new paragraph for each part of your content.

– <a href=> creates a clickable link.

If you’re still feeling like you need more support as a beginner in the HTML world, or you’re just interested in learning more about HTML, check out w3schools, which has a lot of free content about HTML for beginners through to the most advanced users.