What Does HTML Stand For?

HTML stands for four words, each with a job

• HyperText: text that contains links to other text. Click a word and you jump to another page. That linking idea is the heart of the web.
• Markup: notes added around content to describe it, the way an editor once marked up a typed draft with symbols for bold or a new paragraph.
• Language: a fixed set of rules and names, so every browser reads the notes the same way.

So the full form describes exactly what it is: a set of agreed labels for linked documents. Spoken aloud it comes out as "H T M L," four separate sounds, so it belongs with the initialisms. The same "hypertext" word shows up in HTTP, the rule set that moves those pages across the internet.

What does HTML stand for in practice? A look at tags

HTML works through tags, short words inside angle brackets. Most come in pairs, an opening tag and a closing tag with a slash.

Common tags you will meet early:

• h1 to h6: headings, from largest to smallest.
• p: a paragraph.
• a: a link, short for anchor.
• img: an image.
• ul, ol and li: bulleted lists, numbered lists and their items.
• table: rows and columns of data.

HTML, CSS and JavaScript: who does what

Web pages are often explained as a house. HTML is the frame and the rooms. CSS, Cascading Style Sheets, is the paint, the furniture and the layout. JavaScript is the wiring that makes the lights switch on when you press a button.

A page can work with HTML alone. It will look plain, but the words, headings and links will all be there.

Where HTML came from

HTML was created in the early 1990s by the scientist who also designed the World Wide Web, as a simple way to share linked research papers. Early versions had only a handful of tags. Over the years new tags were added for tables, forms, video and audio. The version people call HTML5 brought built in support for media and clearer labels such as header, nav and footer. Today the standard is updated as a living document rather than in big numbered jumps.

Where you see the letters outside of coding

• Email settings: "Send as HTML" means the message can have bold text, colors and images. "Plain text" means no formatting.
• Saving a page: a browser may save a page as an .html file you can open offline.
• Job ads: "Basic HTML" is a common request for marketing, writing and support roles.
• School: intro computer classes often start with HTML because results show up right away.

For the address you type to reach a page, see URL, and for the web itself, WWW. More terms like these are gathered under tech acronyms.

Writing and saying HTML

Write it in capitals. Since the first letter is said "aitch," use an before it: an HTML file, an HTML email. File names end in .html or the older .htm, and both open the same way. People sometimes write "HTML code" or "HTML language"; the second repeats the L, but it is common in speech and nobody is confused.