Why HTML & CSS?

Can frontend development survive without HTML & CSS? For now, the answer is NO! I’ll tell you why as we go further. Firstly, I'll introduce the concept of frontend development, the importance of content on a web page, and the benefits of HTML & CSS.

What is frontend development?

Frontend development is known as the client-side development of a web page, it basically has to do with the appearance and interactivity of a web page (look and feel). When it comes to frontend development there are basic technologies to be mastered and they are HTML, CSS, and Javascript (for dynamic frontend programming). In a Youtube video by “The Come Up” she referred frontend development as “The face” she called HTML the skeletal system, CSS the aesthetic(hair & skin), and Javascript the facial expression. That being said you understand that HTML & CSS is like the backbone of frontend development.

                                 * HTML code snippet*

Let’s take a deep dive in history, the initial web pages were simply black and white, simple web pages. The web was created in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee for reference check this article A short history of the Web. CSS came in 6 years later in 1996 and since then they have both been the foundation for frontend development. The aim of a web application or web page is to display information to help prospective users understand what the organization’s services and the product are about it also aids in communication between the organization and client. That brings me to my next point.

Why Content?

As earlier stated it aids in communication. Before you consider the interactivity of a web page, the content is considered. Why are you building this web page or application in the first place? The structure and content are important. The structure of a web page tells us how the page is set up and HTML helps you do that, it contains the information needed to be communicated. We need to know what your page is talking about. So black and white wasn’t that bad. After that, the appearance is required here it helps beautify your webpage and makes it attractive to prospective users or clients. Before all the frameworks and big things, the basics of a web page should be fully understood.

                                      *Sample of a webpage *

For the few months, I’ve been in technology I’ve seen people bash HTML & CSS calling it primary and hurrying up to learning frameworks. We often forget that the foundation is essential to building a solid structure. You can learn the libraries of HTML & CSS, they help make codes efficient and clean. But without the basics, you might be lost. You need to understand how these things work, how did it get here, why are this important in the structure and other relevant questions.

Why HTML & CSS?

You can not build a webpage with just Javascript, HTML & CSS is needed. Javascript libraries and frameworks all have elements of HTML. I read something somewhere where it states “Javascript without HTML is a body without bones” imagine how that would be. You can use just HTML & CSS to create cool web pages, actually beautiful ones.

WHAT CAN I CREATE WITH HTML & CSS?

• You can build really nice static websites for small businesses.
• You can improve your WordPress site using these two tools.
• Create emails and newsletters for clients.
• A simple sign-in and contact forms can be built with HTML & CSS.
• You can build portfolio sites and blogs.
• Create animations using CSS such as this twitter.com/ellie_html/status/126531279588…
• And most importantly you can teach someone. There are a lot of things you can build. So that being said I hope you see how relevant it is to know HTML & CSS, it will help sharpen your frontend skill, it is IMPORTANT. I know you’ll say this article is basic and all, but Hey! I wrote it. Thanks for reading.

RESOURCES USED:

• Learning Web Design, 5th Edition. A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics. By Jennifer Niederst Robbins.
• henryegloff.com/how-to-code-a-basic-webpag…