Hello and welcome to Build Simple Webpages – Session 1. I’m Sarah, and today we’re unlocking the basics of HTML and CSS. Now, if you’re just starting out, HTML is where it all begins. Think of it as the skeleton of your webpage – it gives structure to everything you see online. Without HTML, you’d just have a blank page, really.So, what does HTML actually do? Well, it organises your content. You’ve got headings, which are those big bold titles – like h1 for your main heading, h2 for subheadings, and so on. Then there are paragraphs, which are just p tags, wrapping your text. Links? That’s the a tag, which lets you jump to other pages or sites. Images use the img tag, and lists – whether you want bullet points or numbers – that’s ul and ol for unordered and ordered lists, with li for each item.I remember my first attempt at building a webpage, back in Essex, for my local cricket club. I was so chuffed just getting the club’s name up in a big heading, then adding a list of fixtures underneath. It was all very basic, but seeing it in a browser felt like magic. I think I even managed to add a photo of the team, though it took me ages to get the image to show up – I kept forgetting to put the file in the right folder. Classic beginner mistake, right?Once you’ve got your content sorted with HTML, you’ll probably notice it looks a bit, well, plain. That’s where CSS comes in. CSS is all about style – it’s how you add colour, change fonts, tweak spacing, and move things around. It’s like giving your skeleton a wardrobe and a bit of personality.For example, you can set your background to a lovely blue, make your headings pop with a bold font, or add some space between your paragraphs so it’s easier to read. You can even position things exactly where you want them on the page. It’s honestly amazing how much you can change with just a few lines of CSS.If you’ve ever seen a website before and after a redesign, you’ll know what I mean. Take Wikipedia, for instance – it’s had a few facelifts over the years, and most of that magic happens with CSS. The content stays the same, but the look and feel can be completely transformed. It’s a bit like redecorating your house without knocking down any walls.Now, let’s talk about the CSS box model. This is one of those things that sounds a bit technical, but it’s really just about how every element on your page is a box – with content, padding, borders, and margins. Understanding this helps you control layouts and spacing, so things don’t end up squished together or floating off the page.One of the best practices in web development is keeping your structure and your style separate. So, HTML handles the content and structure, and CSS takes care of how it looks. This makes your code cleaner and much easier to update later on. Trust me, you don’t want to be hunting through a mess of mixed-up code when you want to change a colour or move a heading.If you’re building a basic webpage layout, start with your HTML – maybe a header at the top, a main section for your content, and a footer at the bottom. Then, use CSS to add some padding, set your background colours, and space things out. It’s a step-by-step process, and once you get the hang of it, it’s actually quite satisfying. I always say, keep it simple and build up from there.Alright, so you’ve got a nice-looking page, but what happens when someone views it on their phone or a tablet? That’s where responsive design comes in. With CSS media queries, you can make your webpage adapt to different screen sizes, so it looks good whether you’re on a laptop or a tiny mobile screen.And don’t forget about accessibility. It’s so important to make sure everyone can use your site. Simple things like adding alt text to your images mean that people using screen readers know what’s there. ARIA labels can help too, making navigation clearer for those with assistive technologies.There are loads of tools out there to help you test how your site looks and works across devices and for different users. I always recommend checking your site on your phone and using browser tools to simulate different screens. It’s a bit of extra effort, but it makes a huge difference for your visitors.Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can start playing with more advanced CSS. Flexbox and Grid are brilliant for creating complex layouts that still work on any device. They let you arrange your content in rows, columns, or even more creative patterns, and everything just snaps into place.CSS variables are another handy tool – they let you set colours or fonts in one place and reuse them throughout your site. So, if you want to change your theme, you just update the variable, and it changes everywhere. It’s a real time-saver.And if you want to add a bit of flair, CSS animations and transitions can make your site feel more dynamic. Maybe a button changes colour when you hover, or an image slides in as you scroll. It’s those little touches that make your webpage stand out and feel more engaging.That’s all for today’s session. We’ve covered a lot, from the basics of HTML and CSS to some more advanced tricks. Next time, we’ll dig even deeper and get hands-on with some real-world examples. Thanks for joining me, and happy coding!

Episodes

HTML and CSS Basics Unlocked