Glossary of Key Terms: HTML + CSS
- HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
- The standard language used to create and structure content on the web. HTML uses elements and tags to define headings, paragraphs, images, links, and more.
- CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
- A style sheet language used to describe the look and formatting of HTML elements, including colors, fonts, layouts, and responsiveness.
- Element
- An individual component of an HTML document, usually represented by a tag such as <p>, <div>, or <a>.
- Tag
- A piece of HTML code that marks the beginning or end of an element. Example: <h1> is the start tag, and </h1> is the end tag.
- Attribute
- Additional information added to an HTML tag that modifies its behavior or appearance. Example: href, src, alt.
- Selector
- In CSS, a pattern used to select the HTML elements you want to style. Example: p { color: red; } selects all <p> tags.
- Class
- A reusable identifier used in HTML and CSS to apply the same styles to multiple elements. Declared with class="name" in HTML and .name {} in CSS.
- ID
- A unique identifier used to target a specific HTML element. Declared with id="unique" in HTML and styled in CSS with #unique {}.
- Box Model
- The concept describing how every HTML element is essentially a box, consisting of margins, borders, padding, and the content itself.
- Semantic HTML
- HTML that uses elements according to their intended purpose, such as <article>, <section>, <nav>, which improve accessibility and SEO.
- Responsive Design
- A design approach that ensures web pages render well on various devices and screen sizes, often using media queries in CSS.
- Media Query
- A CSS technique used to apply different styles depending on the screen size or device characteristics. Example: @media (max-width: 600px) { ... }
- Flexbox (Flexible Box Layout)
- A CSS layout model designed to help distribute space and align items efficiently within a container, even when their sizes are unknown.
- Viewport
- The visible area of a web page on a screen. The viewport's width and height affect how responsive styles are applied.
- GitHub Pages
- A static site hosting service that allows you to publish web content directly from a GitHub repository.
- External Stylesheet
- A separate .css file linked to an HTML document using a <link> tag to apply consistent styling across multiple pages.
- Inline Style
- A CSS rule applied directly within an HTML element using the style attribute. Example: <p style="color:blue;">.
- Internal Style
- CSS written within the <style> tag inside the HTML document's <head> section.
- DOCTYPE
- A declaration that defines the HTML version being used, placed at the top of the document: <!DOCTYPE html>.
- Alt Text (Alternative Text)
- A description of an image, provided via the alt attribute, used for accessibility and displayed when the image cannot load.