IGCSEICTCambridge (CIE)Revision Notes12. Website AuthoringHTML in the Content LayerHTML

HTML (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE ICT)

Revision Note

Robert Hampton

Expertise

Computer Science Content Creator

Cambridge (CIE) ICTEdexcel ICT

What is HTML?

  • Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), is the foundational language used to structure content on the web

  • HTML consists of a series of elements, often referred to as "tags," which can be used to structure and format a webpage

  • The <html> tag is the root element of an HTML page

  • The tag includes all other HTML elements used on the page

  • Most tags are opened and closed e.g. <html> and </html> whereas some tags are only opened e.g. <img> and <link>

  • The content layer of a web page is made up of HTML elements such as headings (<h1>, <h2>, etc.), paragraphs (<p>), links (<a>), images (<img>), and more

What is the head section of a webpage?

  • The head section contains information about the web page that's not displayed on the page itself

    • It's enclosed by <head> and </head> tags

    • The content inside the head tag is displayed in the browser tab

Page title

  • The <title> element is used to set the page title that displays in the browser tab

  • It is placed inside the <head> section of the HTML document

<title>My Web Page</title>

External stylesheets

  • External stylesheets are linked in the <head> section using the <link> element

  • The rel attribute is set to "stylesheet", and the href attribute contains the relative file path to the CSS file

  • Stylesheets are loaded in the order they are listed, so hierarchy is important

<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
Screenshot of a simple HTML file with DOCTYPE declaration, HTML, head, and body tags. The body contains "Hello world" and a script element linking to "script.js".
Adding a page title and link to an external stylesheet in HTML

Metatags

  • Metatags are snippets of text in HTML that describe a page's content

  • They don't appear on the page itself but in the page's code

  • Search engines, browsers and other web services use metatags to glean information about a web page

  • Metatags provide additional information about the web page to the browser and search engines

  • Examples of metatags include:

    • Charset

      • The <meta charset="UTF-8"> tag specifies the character encoding for the HTML document

      • UTF-8 is the most common character encoding and includes almost all characters from all writing systems

    • Keywords

      • The keywords attribute in a <meta> tag is a comma-separated list of words that represent the content of the web page

      • It was originally intended to help search engines understand the content of a page, but it's less relevant today as search engines have become more sophisticated

    • Author

      • The author attribute in a <meta> the tag identifies the author of the web page

      • It can be helpful for copyright purposes and for readers who want to know the source of the content

    • Description

      • The description attribute in a <meta> tag provides a concise explanation of the content of the web page

      • This description often appears in search engine results and can influence click-through rates

HTML code for a basic webpage with "My Web Page" title, linked `styles.css`, "Hello world" text in the body, and a `script.js` file.
Adding basic metatags in HTML

  • Viewport

    • The <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> tag makes your web page display correctly on all devices (desktop, tablet, mobile)

    • It controls the viewport size and the initial zoom level

Screenshot of HTML code with a simple structure including a title, meta tags for description and author, a link to a CSS stylesheet, and a script reference.
Adding a viewpoint metatag in HTML

Default target windows

  • The target attribute of the <base> element can set a default target window for all links on a page

  • For example, <base target="_blank"> will open all links in a new window or tab

Screenshot of an HTML code editor showing the structure of an HTML document, including the DOCTYPE, head and body sections, and a link to an external CSS stylesheet.
Adding the base target metatag in HTML

Body

What is the body section of a webpage?

  • The body section contains the main content of the web page, such as text, images, videos, hyperlinks, tables etc.

    • It's enclosed by <body> and </body> tags

    • The content inside the body tag is displayed in the browser window

  • Text entry (headings & paragraphs)

Code editor displaying an HTML file named "index.html" with basic tags including meta and base tags within the head and empty body tags.
Adding text to the body of a HTML page

  • Inserting an image

HTML code displayed in a text editor, showing the closing tags for table, body, and html elements within an index.html file.
Adding an image in HTML

Tables in webpages

  • In the early days of web development, tables were used to create complex page layouts

  • They provide a way to arrange data into rows and columns

  • By utilising cell padding, cell spacing, and borders, developers could manipulate the appearance of the page

  • Today, tables are primarily used for displaying tabular data - information that is logically displayed in grid format

  • For example, financial data, timetables, comparison charts and statistical data are often presented in tables

  • Tables make it easy for users to scan, analyse and comprehend the data

  • Tables also enhance accessibility

  • Screen readers for visually impaired users can read tables effectively if they are correctly structured

  • HTML elements like <table>, <tr>, <th>, and <td> help in conveying the structure and purpose of the data to these assistive technologies

Screenshot of an HTML and CSS code editor on the left, displaying a basic table with company, contact, and country columns, and its rendered view on the right.
Creating a table using HTML

What is a bookmark?

  • A bookmark in HTML is a way to provide links to specific sections of a web page

  • It allows users to navigate easily to different sections of content without having to scroll through the entire page

  • Bookmarks are created using the id attribute in HTML

  • Example: <div id="section1">This is Section 1</div>

  • Any tag can be turned into a bookmark by adding an id attribute to it

  • The id should be unique and not used more than once on a page

  • To link to the bookmark, use the <a> tag with a href value set to # followed by the id of the bookmark

  • By combining the <a> tag and the href attribute with a specific id, you can create a link that takes the user to that bookmarked section of the page

  • A hyperlink, often just called a 'link', is a reference to data that a reader can directly follow by clicking or tapping

  • It is one of the core elements of the World Wide Web, as it enables navigation from one web page or section to another

  • Hyperlinks are created using the <a> (anchor) tag in HTML

  • They can link to different sections of the same page, other locally stored web pages, or external websites

    • Text hyperlinks: Usually, a portion of text that is highlighted in some way, like being underlined or a different colour

    • Image hyperlinks: An image that you can click on to take you to another page or another part of the same page

    • Button hyperlinks: A clickable button that redirects the user to another page or section

  • Hyperlinks utilise the 'href' attribute within the <a> tag in HTML

  • The 'href' attribute contains the URL of the page to which the link leads

  • The text between the opening <a> and closing </a> tags are the part that will appear as a link on the page

  • Same-page bookmark: Use the # followed by the id of the element you want to jump to

    • Example: <a href="#section1">Go to Section 1</a>

  • Locally stored web page: Use the relative path to the file

    • Example: <a href="contact.html">Contact Us</a>

  • External website: Use the full URL

    • Example: <a href="https://www.google.com">Google</a>

  • Email link: Use mailto: followed by the email address

  • Specified location: Use the target attribute to specify where to open the link

    • _blank for a new tab or window

    • _self for the same tab or window, or a named window

      • Example: <a href="https://www.google.com" target="_blank">Google</a>

Example body section containing bookmarks and hyperlinks

<html>
<body>
    <div id="section1">
        <h1>This is Section 1</h1>
        <a href="#section2">Go to Section 2</a><br>
        <a href="contact.html">Contact Us</a><br>
        <a href="https://www.google.com" target="_blank">Google</a><br>
        <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Email Us</a>
    </div>
    <div id="section2">
        <h1>This is Section 2</h1>
        <a href="#section1">Go back to Section 1</a>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

File Paths

What is a relative file path?

  • A relative file path specifies the location of a file or directory about the current location, or the location of the file that references it

  • For instance, if an HTML file and an image are in the same directory, you can reference the image in the HTML file using just its name (e.g., image.jpg)

What is an absolute file path?

  • An absolute file path specifies the exact location of a file or directory, regardless of the current location

  • It includes the entire path from the root directory to the file or directory in question

  • For instance, an absolute file path on a Windows system might look like C:\Users\Username\Documents\image.jpg

Reasons not to use absolute file paths for local objects

  • Using absolute file paths for local web pages or objects can lead to broken links when the website is moved to a different directory or server

  • The web page or object might not exist at the specified location on the server or the user's computer

  • If a website is moved or backed up, absolute links will still point to the original location, not the new or backup location

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    Robert Hampton

    Author: Robert Hampton

    Rob has over 16 years' experience teaching Computer Science and ICT at KS3 & GCSE levels. Rob has demonstrated strong leadership as Head of Department since 2012 and previously supported teacher development as a Specialist Leader of Education, empowering departments to excel in Computer Science. Beyond his tech expertise, Robert embraces the virtual world as an avid gamer, conquering digital battlefields when he's not coding.