There are many different types of websites out there with varying degrees of complexity. Websites are just like any other structure. The more tools, people, and money you have, the more complex your website can be. So, what is the absolute minimum you need to build a website? You actually only need to learn one tool: HTML.
With all of the different types of websites, it can be very confusing trying to figure out what a website is. Is HTML really the only tool you need to learn to build a website? Yes and no. To help you understand what websites are, I’m going to explain as many different types of websites as I can, starting with a website that is 100% HTML.
This article is the first in a series. Here is the list of all the types of websites in this series. The first type of website is below. The rest of the websites will be in separate articles.
- HTML Websites
- HTML, CSS Websites
- HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Websites
- HTML, PHP Websites
- HTML, PHP, MySQL Website
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL Websites
HTML Websites
You can build an entire website using HTML, but it wouldn’t look like much. If you were comparing websites to physical structures, an HTML website would be like a small structure made out of wood and nails. You can do a lot with wood and nails, but birdhouses and dog houses are probably the extent. It wouldn’t look like much. In fact, I bet there are only a couple websites out there just using HTML (no CSS, JavaScript, etc.). If you built a website just using HTML, it would look like a text document. You could embed images and links, but it would just look like images and links in a text document.
I guess it’s not necessarily true that HTML is the only tool you need to know to build a website. You also need to know how to “deploy” the website and make it visible on the internet, but the deployment process for our HTML website is simple because the website itself is simple.
To deploy your website, you’d need a server that’s exposed to the internet. On the server, you’d need a program called a web server (NginX or Apache, for example), and you’d need a domain name.
How do you set up a server, install a web server, and buy a domain? Well, there are many different ways, some easier and some more difficult. Some hosts (like Blue Host) handle the complexity for you. They set up the server, web server, and domain for you. Then, all you have to do is upload your HTML file to a certain folder on the server, and your website will be accessible from the internet. Typically, you would need an FTP client to upload your file, but these websites usually have a helpful online tool (like cPanel) to upload your HTML file.
There’s something else called WordPress, but I’ll save that for later. A WordPress website is a lot different than an HTML website.
That’s all you really need to know to build and deploy an HTML website. As the websites get more complex, the deployment process also gets more complex. I’ll mainly focus on the websites and not the deployment process.
The important thing to keep in mind is that all you need to know to build a website is HTML (and some deployment tools). The more tools you learn, the better your website will get.