Build Your First Website in One Afternoon: A Beginner's Guide to HTML and CSS

A website is a text file. If you can type, you can build one. Here is a plan for a first afternoon.

Before you start

You need a computer, a text editor (Notepad works, though a free editor such as VS Code is nicer) and a web browser.

Hour 1: HTML, the structure

Create a file called index.html and type a heading, a paragraph and an image. HTML tags like <h1> and <p> tell the browser what each piece is. Open the file in your browser to see it.

Hour 2: CSS, the style

Create a file called style.css. Change the colours, fonts and spacing. Link it from your HTML file. Each change shows how a page's look is separate from its content.

Hour 3: make it yours

Write about something you care about: your school, a hobby, your football team. Add a photo you took, and a link to another page.

Hour 4: show it

Ask someone to read it on their phone. Notice what is hard to read or tap, and fix it.

What next?

Publish it for free, then learn how to make it interactive with JavaScript. Our free HTML and CSS courses on the Techbase Academy walk through each step with practice tasks.