What is the Difference Between HTML and CSS

The main difference between HTML and CSS is that the HTML is a markup language that is used to create the structure of a web page while CSS is a styling language that is used to make the web pages more presentable.  

HTML is a text-based approach to describe how the content is structured in a web page. According to the tags in the HTML file, the web browser displays the text, content, tables, lists and other elements. CSS is a styling language that is used to describe the appearance and formatting of a document written in markup language. There is another language called JavaScript which is a client-side scripting language. It is used to make the web page dynamic. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are considered as the main three basic languages for web development.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is HTML
     – Definition, Functionality
2. What is CSS
     – Definition, Functionality
3. What is the Difference Between HTML and CSS
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

CSS, HTML, JavaScript

Difference Between HTML and CSS - Comparison Summary

What is HTML

HTML is used to create the structure of the web page. It consists of tags. There are various versions of HTML as HTML1, 2, etc. The latest version is HTML 5. It consists of additional features such as SVG, Geolocation, native audio and video support.  A web page developed only using HTML is a static web page. The programmer can easily create an HTML file using the notepad, and he can execute it on a web browser.

Difference Between HTML and CSS

The HTML file starts with Document Type declaration. It specifies the version of HTML. Then the document starts with <html> and ends with </html>. There are two sections in the HTML page. They are called head and body section. The head section contains the details of the file such as title and Metadata. The tags to make the visible content of the webpage are placed inside the body section. There are tags for headings, paragraphs, tables, lists, etc. 

What is CSS

CSS is a design language that is used to make the web pages more presentable. It is written inside HTML. It is used to add designs such as adding colours, changing fonts and texts, etc. It is also possible to add features like gradients, shadows, 2D, 3D transforms, borders etc. CSS can be added with HTML inline, or it can be added as an external tag. The CSS declarations have two sections called property and value, which are separated by a colon.

Main Difference - HTML vs CSS

There are various versions of CSS. CSS 1 is the oldest version and is a simple visual formatting model for all the HTML tags. CSS 2 contains additional features such as element positioning, downloadable fonts, which are more media-specific styles. The newest version is CSS3. It has selectors, box models, backgrounds, borders, transforms etc.

Difference Between HTML and CSS

Definition

HTML is the standard markup language for creating web pages and web applications. CSS is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of documents written in a markup language like HTML. Thus, this explains the basic difference between HTML and CSS.

Full Form

HyperText Markup Language is the full form of HTML while Cascading Style Sheet is the full form of CSS.

Consist of

Another difference between HTML and CSS is that the HTML consists of tags surrounding content while the CSS consists of selectors succeeded by a declaration block.  

Association

Furthermore, one other difference between HTML and CSS is that the CSS can be used in HTML files while the HTML cannot be used in CSS files.

Usage

There is also a difference between HTML and CSS based on their usage. HTML is used to build the structure of the web page while CSS is used to make the web page more presentable. 

Conclusion

HTML and CSS are two main languages commonly used for web development. The difference between HTML and CSS is that the HTML is a markup language that is used to create the structure of a web page while the CSS is a styling language that is used to make the web pages more presentable. 

Reference:

1. “HTML Overview.” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, Available here.
2. “What Is CSS.” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “HTML5 logo and wordmark” By W3C (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “CSS.3” By Nikotaf – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia

About the Author: Lithmee

Lithmee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Systems Engineering and is reading for her Master’s degree in Computer Science. She is passionate about sharing her knowldge in the areas of programming, data science, and computer systems.

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