HTML coding requires a specific skill set from developers for robust website development.Based on your requirement and project details, you can use any of the content management systems to get the things started. However, “if you are planning to start your website coding from scratch in HTML”, there are a few things you need to make sure before beginning to code.
Specify DOCTYPE
DOCTYPE is the first line of code which tells your web browser to render your code in standard mode by mentioning the version of your HTML coding.
If you don’t mention DOCTYPE in your source code file, the web browser will render the webpage on its own. Meaning, it would understand your HTML code with the best of its ability and might miss-interpret what it cannot understand. So, you might end up having improper elements of the website because the browser could effectively comprehend what you meant. Basically, your page would render in quirks mode if you avoid mentioning DOCTYPE in your code. Otherwise, your code will be rendered in standard mode.
Always ensure that your page gets rendered standard mode to give accurate and desired results at the user end.
Avoid using in-line CSS and internal JavaScript
CSS gives perspective to your webpage by giving it style and design. CSS can be written internally and externally where latter is linked with your desired HTML source code. In internal CSS, you have to write CSS every time with respective HTML tags.
In-line CSS will make your code cluttered and unnecessarily longer. If you keep adding CSS with respective HTML tags, your source code won’t look clean. As a developer, you will have to do testing and editing in your coding to improve the website, at that time, cluttered source file makes your testing tasks troublesome.
Also, you can include JavaScript internally, but for an interactive website, you are left with unavoidable thousand lines of codes in a single file. At that time, your R&D will be a lot smoother if you have written JavaScript code in the different file.
Moreover, external CSS and JavaScript files can be used multiple times for different webpages.
Make your code readable
Cleanliness is a skill and characteristic of an excellent web developer. Always end your HTML tags in a different line and create a hierarchy of your snippets to make it readable.
This has zero effect in the rendering of the code. But when other people like team members or your client read the code, they can understand the code better.
Starting your HTML coding from scratch can be daunting and time-consuming. Ensure these basics in order to be safe and on-track for further development of your website. As a developer, you should aspire to write concise and readable code.