Learn HTML and CSS -- create a website part 1

When creating a website you have many options. Most people immediately think they need to learn html and CSS but that’s not necessary anymore with all the tools out there like Content Management Systems (ex. Wordpress, Joomla, or Drupal), template web design websites (like Weebly), and web development tools (like Dreamweaver). All of these tools write the html and CSS for you so you don’t have to. But all of these tools have their pros and cons and I always advice people to at least learn very basic html so they can customize their websites and so they have a small knowledge of how the web development tools they use work.

Now if you’re brand new to all of this stuff, HTML is the language/code used to create websites. Internet browsers (ex. Mozilla Firefox) read the HTML code and display a website based on how the HTML code tells it to. CSS is the style sheet code that is separate from HTML and is typically used to stylize webpages. Using both HTML and CSS lets you separate the content part of a webpage (HTML) from the design part of a webpage (CSS). *note--it is not completely necessary to learn CSS to stylize your webpages because you can stylize with html.

Now if that last paragraph confused the heck out of you…HAVE NO FEAR! Because using something like a content management system will take care of all of this code stuff for you (See "How To Create Your Own Website" to see how)! However, if you learn HTML and CSS you can build a blog or website from scratch and have complete control over everything on your site. The more you learn, the more you can do. This is a good option if you have a lot of time and want complete flexibility over what you can do with your site.

However, be prepared to devote a lot of time to learning and writing code for your websites if you do this. Because of this, I would not recommend building a website from scratch using just HTML and CSS. If you build your website 100% from a content management system or a web development tool, it helps to learn HTML and CSS basics. A basic knowledge will help you understand how these website building tools work and this knowledge will also help you customize your website; however, I do not think it is necessary for you to devote a ton of time to learn HTML and CSS.

I typically make my websites with a content management system (like Wordpress or Drupal) and then I customize it with html. Go to "How To Create Your Own Website" to learn about content management systems and how they make creating a website a breeze!

...so do you know HTML or CSS? Do you think people should learn it? Feel free to comment below.

Also, If you want to learn about search engine marketing, SEO, and link building for your website or blog...check out this free report I wrote.