Stage 1 of 8 · 7 lessons · ~3 weeks

Web basics for site builders

What sits under every site you will build: domains, DNS, hosting, HTTPS, enough HTML and CSS to read and fix a page, and what a CMS actually does.

Start: Domains and DNS records

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Write a one-page site by hand with semantic HTML: header, nav, main, footer, one h1 and headings in order.
Style it with plain CSS, including a media query that changes the layout on phones.
Publish it on a free host and confirm it loads over HTTPS.
Look up the DNS records of a real business domain with an online DNS lookup and name each record type.
Use DevTools to find which CSS rule sets a colour on any live site, and change it live.
List the content types of a site you use often (for example products, reviews, authors) and their fields.

Start with· follow one of these

GuideFree
MDN Web Docs
Mozilla
Free, accurate learning area for HTML, CSS and how the web works; the reference every builder keeps open
GuideFree
W3Schools
W3Schools · Beginner
Short beginner examples of HTML and CSS you can edit in the browser straight away

Practise

Frontend Mentor
Free designs to rebuild in HTML and CSS, so you practise turning a mockup into a real page

Keep handy

Can I Use
Check whether a CSS feature works in the browsers your client's customers use

Also worth your time

web.devGo deeper
Google's guides on responsive design, images and performance for when the basics feel solid

Before moving on: A one-page site you wrote by hand in HTML and CSS, published on a free host with HTTPS, plus a written note of the DNS records you would set to point a custom domain at it.

Tauseef's advice

Page builders hide the web, they do not replace it. Every broken layout, slow page and failed launch I have fixed came down to DNS, HTML or CSS, so a week here saves months of guessing later. If you already hand code simple pages, skim this and move on.