To format your text, use the following:
<B>This text will be boldified.</B> <I>This text will be italicized.</I> <U>This text will be underlined.</U>
HTML usually uses this kind of style: HTML codes are enclosed in pointy brackets, and the whole unit (brackets and whatever's between them together) is called an HTML "tag". A tag is, as above, usually canceled out by repeating it except with a slash right after the opening bracket.
To make a paragraph, do this:
<P>This text will be put into a paragraph. This means it'll automatically have its beginning (wherever you put the <P> tag) nicely put on a new line with a blank line before it, as well as a blank line after the end of the paragraph.</P>
To make a hyperlink (usually called just a "link"), the heart of "hypertext", use this:
<A HREF="http://urloflink.com">Click here!</A>
To change your font, use this syntax:
<FONT>This text will appear using the set font.</FONT>
Like most programming languages, HTML lets you put comments in the code, which don't actually appear in the final product but help annotate the code itself. Use this syntax to make an HTML comment:
<!--This is an HTML comment. W00t.-->
To put an image on a website, use the following format:
<IMG SRC="picname.jpg" ALT="This is a description of the picture.">
You don't actually need to include the ALT, but you should, because it lets people with non-graphical browsers see the description of the picture so they know what they *should* be seeing.
To make a nifty horizontal separator for your site (like the one surrounding this text), just use the <HR> tag. Handy, huh?
To change your background color, use this syntax (you need to put it at the beginning, before any content):
<BODY BGCOLOR=#RRGGBB>
The RRGGBB part represents the level of red, green, and blue that you want in the background color. This gets a little tricky and has to do with mixing colors of light, so you might not want to bother, since colored backgrounds are usually annoying anyway. As a quick fix, here's what I use to achieve that nifty 0ld sk00l dull gray that I use all over my site:
<BODY BGCOLOR=#D5D5D5>
How do you make animations? The best way is to use animated GIFs. Get a program which can make them. Use these sparingly, as people tend to get annoyed by them.
How To Make HTML Frames The explanation for this was a little long, so I made a separate page for it.
Oh, and the <PRE> tag makes your text "preformatted", which means new lines, spacing, etc. will show up exactly as they're typed in the HTML code. It also sets your font to a bland monospaced font, to make this job easier. And yes, that is the reason so much of the text on this site looks that way.
<PRE>This text will be preformatted.</PRE>
This is all you need to know about HTML to make a good website.
What's that? You want to make animations, applets, or scripts which serve no purpose other than to waste everyone's time? Then you are a lamer who wishes to further lower the already-pitiful signal-to-noise ratio of the Internet. Go play with your skateboard and leave the Web alone.
What's that? You work as a website designer and your client wants a site with animations, applets, or scripts on it? Then your client is a lamer. Quit your job as a website designer and become a network administrator or programmer. They make more money anyway, so it works out in your favor.
What's that? You're making your own website, and you think animations, applets, or scripts will improve the site, or impress more people? Think again. The fact is, most people are either annoyed by these things, or don't notice them much. Think about it. The most-visited sites on the Web (I'm not naming names, you know who I'm talking about) don't use any of these things. All of the biggest portal sites use little more than a few simple graphics. Instead, they rely on a simple, tasteful, and efficient site design which loads quickly even on slow connections, is appealing to the eyes without being wasteful, and is content-rich. It's not how much you have, it's how you handle what you've got. And even a few simple graphics can look professional if you know what you're doing.