How to Make Multiple Pages in HTML: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

By Cristian G. Guasch •  Updated: 09/18/23 •  9 min read

Embarking on the journey of web development, you’ll soon realize one page simply isn’t enough to showcase all your content. That’s where learning how to make multiple pages in HTML comes into play. I’m here to guide you through this process step by step.

This skill is absolutely essential for any aspiring web developer. HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is the backbone of most websites we interact with every day. It’s used to structure content and present it on the web in an organized fashion.

Becoming proficient at creating multiple pages in HTML will not only expand your website capabilities but also increase its user-friendliness. After all, nobody likes scrolling endlessly when they could be efficiently navigating through neatly structured pages!

Understanding HTML and Its Importance

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “HTML” countless times, especially if you’re diving into website creation. But what is it exactly? Why is it so crucial in web development? Let’s delve deeper into these questions.

HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, isn’t a programming language. It’s a markup language used to structure content on the web. Picture your favorite website for a second. The text, images, videos, links – they’re all structured and displayed via HTML!

Now imagine trying to read an encyclopedia with no headings or sections – just raw text from start to finish. You’d be lost in no time! That’s what websites without HTML would look like: unorganized blocks of content with no structure whatsoever.

And that’s where the importance of HTML shines through brightly. It provides a clear framework for presenting information on the web in an organized manner. Without it, we’d find ourselves lost in oceans of unstructured data.

Let me give you an example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>

<h1>This is a Heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html> 

In this simple yet powerful code snippet, we’ve created an HTML document with a title, heading and two paragraphs – each element neatly wrapped within its own tag!

But wait there’s more! The same tag can have multiple uses as well. Take <a> for instance:

<a href="https://www.example.com">Visit our website!</a> <!-- external link -->
<a href="#section2">Jump to Section 2!</a> <!-- internal link -->

Here we see how <a> not only helps us create external links but also internal ones!

Understanding HTML and mastering its use is a cornerstone in web development. It’s the backbone of every webpage we visit, making it an invaluable tool for any aspiring web developer. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty with more HTML!

Basics of Creating a Single Page in HTML

Let’s dive straight into the basics of creating a single page in HTML. It all starts with understanding that every HTML page is primarily structured around tags. Tags are instructions enclosed in angle brackets (<>). The most basic tags include <html><head><title>, and <body>.

To kick things off, you’ll need to declare your document as an HTML5 document. This is done by including <!DOCTYPE html> at the very top of your file. It’s not shouting at you, it’s just letting browsers know what type of document they’re dealing with!

Next up, we’ve got the <html> tag. Think of this as the container for all your other tags – everything else goes inside here! Nested within our handy-dandy <html> tag are two key sections: the head and the body.

The <head> section isn’t seen by visitors on your webpage but holds vital information about your page like its title and links to any CSS stylesheets you might be using. You can create it using a simple pair of opening and closing head tags like so:

<head>
  <title>Your Awesome Webpage</title>
</head>

Meanwhile, don’t underestimate the importance of your webpage’s body – this is where all visible content goes! From paragraphs to images, if you want users to see it, it belongs in between those <body></body> tags.

Here’s an example:

<body>
  <h1>Welcome to My Awesome Webpage!</h1>
  <p>This is some text that visitors will actually see.</p>
</body>

Bear in mind that HTML also has numerous other tags for specific elements like headers (<h1> through <h6>), paragraphs (<p>), links (<a href="...">), images (<img src="...">), and many more. Each of these tags serves a unique purpose, making your HTML page dynamic and interactive.

As you can see, creating an HTML page might seem like a daunting task at first, but once you’ve got the basic structure down, it’s simply a matter of filling in the gaps with your content. Remember – practice makes perfect! Happy coding!

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Multiple Pages in HTML

I’m going to walk you through the process of creating multiple pages in HTML. It’s not as daunting as it might sound, and once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll be able to create rich, engaging websites with ease.

To start off, let’s talk about what a webpage is. In essence, it’s just a document written in HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Each webpage has its own unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which basically serves as its address on the internet. When we’re talking about making “multiple pages” in HTML, we’re really just talking about creating multiple documents that are linked together.

Here’s a basic example of how an HTML document is structured:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Web Page</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Website!</h1>
    <p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
    <a href="second.html">Go to my second page</a>
</body>
</html> 

This simple webpage includes a title (“My First Web Page”), a heading (“Welcome to My Website!”), a paragraph (“This is my first paragraph.”), and a link to another page (“Go to my second page”).

To make multiple pages, you’d simply repeat this process for each new document. For instance, here’s how your “second.html” file might look:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My Second Web Page</title>
</head>

<body>

<h1>Welcome to My Second Page!</h1>

<p>This is some text for the second page.</p>

<a href="index.html">Back to first page</a>

</body>

</html> 

Notice that each document contains an <a> tag, which is used to create links. In this case, we’re using it to link our pages together.

Creating multiple pages in HTML is as simple as creating individual documents and linking them together with <a> tags. Remember, each page should have its own unique URL so that your users can easily navigate your site.

It’s also important to note that while this tutorial covers the basics of creating multiple pages in HTML, there’s a lot more you can do with this language. From adding images and multimedia content to building complex forms and applications, the possibilities are virtually endless once you’ve got the basics down.

So don’t stop here – keep experimenting, keep learning, and most importantly, have fun with it!

Linking Your Multiple HTML Pages Together

Getting your multiple html pages to communicate with each other is a bit like setting up a party line in the old days of telephones. It’s all about establishing connections and making sure those links are robust and reliable.

Let me illustrate this concept with some basic examples. Here’s how you’d typically link two HTML pages together:

<a href="page2.html">Go to Page 2</a>

In this example, ‘page2.html’ is the file name of the second page you’re linking to, while ‘Go to Page 2’ is the anchor text that users will click on.

Now, let’s say you’re working on a project where there are multiple pages involved. You’ve got an index.html (your home page), about.html (your About Us page), services.html (detailing what you do), and contact.html (where customers can reach out). How would we connect these? Simple:

<a href="about.html">About Us</a>
<a href="services.html">Our Services</a>
<a href="contact.html">Contact Us</a>

And voila! These links will now appear on your index.html page, providing clickable navigation to your site visitors. Just make sure your files are in the same directory as your index file for this simple method to work!

But what if they’re not? No problem! You just need to specify the path. For example:

<a href="/foldername/about.html">About Us</a>

The ‘/foldername/’ part here denotes that ‘about.html’ resides within a folder named ‘foldername’.

HTML also provides us with ways of opening linked pages in new browser tabs or windows using target=”_blank” attribute:

<a href="services.html" target="_blank">Our Services</a>

This way, the original page remains open while a new tab opens with the linked page.

Remember, linking your HTML pages together isn’t just about ease of navigation. It’s also about improving user experience and site flow. So don’t shy away from creating those connections!

Cristian G. Guasch

Hey! I'm Cristian Gonzalez, I created HTML Easy to help you learn HTML easily and fast.

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