What is HTML?
Also called: HyperText Markup Language
The short answer
HTML is the language that gives a web page its structure: headings, paragraphs, links, images, forms and every other element on the page.
HTML, explained
HTML describes what content is, not how it looks. A heading is marked as a heading, a button as a button, a list as a list, and that meaning is what browsers, screen readers and search engines rely on.
Well-written HTML is the cheapest performance, accessibility and SEO win there is: it loads first, works without JavaScript and tells machines exactly what the page contains.
Questions people ask about HTML
What is HTML?
HTML is the language that gives a web page its structure: headings, paragraphs, links, images, forms and every other element on the page.
Is HTML a programming language?
No, it is a markup language: it describes structure rather than running logic. JavaScript is the programming language of the web.
Related terms
CSS is the language that controls how a web page looks: colours, fonts, spacing, layout, animation and how the design adapts to each screen.
JavaScriptJavaScript is the programming language of the web: it runs in every browser and makes pages interactive, from menus and forms to games and 3D.
Semantic HTMLSemantic HTML uses elements for their meaning, such as header, nav, main, article, button and h1 to h6, instead of generic divs, so machines understand the page.
DOMThe DOM is the browser's live, tree-shaped model of a web page; JavaScript reads and changes the DOM to update what visitors see.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.