Hypertext was a term coined by Ted Nelson around 50 years ago, to refer to text which contained links to other texts.
In recent years Ted Nelson expanded the reference to Hypertext to include the HyperMedia term, to reflect hypertext which is not only constrained to text, but also included links to graphics, video and sound.
Hypertext brought about the addition of codes that would link a word or phrase to another document file and the ability to jump from one to the other, commonly referred to as HyperText Markup Language or HTML. It is a special kind of text documentation that is used by web browsers to present text & graphics, and to enable browsers to retrieve web pages from servers located around the globe. HTML is a non-proprietary format which can be created and processed by a wide range of tools, from simple plain text editors to highly sophisticated HTML authoring software.
If you’re new to web development, there are plenty of free website on the net which will help you to start your own webpage and provide the tips, guides and reference sets for you to use to grow your web page. As HTML is the base language from which web pages are made, beginner web developers will need to understand basic HTML no matter which other languages you choose to use (JavaScript is the most widely used web page language after HTML).
You can write the HTML document on a word processor, Notepad, WordPad, or in Simple Text. When you are finished creating the HTML document, you’ll then open the document in a browser, like Microsoft Explorer or Netscape Navigator. The browser will interpret the HTML commands for you and display the Web page. Alternatively budding web developers can also use a HTML assistant program which can make web development easier, as the program does half the work for you. Another great way to learn HTML and how web pages work is to look at how other users have coded their HTML pages.
Graeme: If you’re unsure about your abilities to create a basic website on your own, there are also alternatives. For a simple way to create a website without having to write html have a look at the site creation services offered by Microsoft or Google.
HTML materials for beginners and experienced web designers are readily available from a multitude of free sites on the web. These sites include useful HTML tags and references, HTML validators, resource and style guides, design tips, and HTML help discussion forums.
www.htmlhelp.com www.htmlgoodies.com www.htmlcodetutorial.com