Dear Friends,

If you are reading this you may just be randomly browsing web pages, but chances are you are seeking some help with HTML and a web page, eBay auction or me page. That's what this site is all about.

I spend a lot of time helping people get started with HTML. Most of us who work professionally with HTML and web pages are glad to share what we've learned. Many who came before us shared their knowledge with us to help us get started and we are pleased to pass the help along to you.

There are a lot of sites on the Internet where you can get help with, and information about, HTML and web page design. Some are free. Some are pay sites. Some are excellent. Some are lacking in one way or another. If you poke around some of these sites, you are bound to find everything you could ever want for free.

This site is not the ultimate answer by any means. I created it first as a place to post the code that I use to answer the basic questions that are asked over and over again on the various forums and boards I frequent. It's easier to provide a link to the code rather than type it over and over in response. As I began the site, I could see it was going to grow and grow and would probably always be a work in progress. It certainly has been to this point.

One of the main reasons I started this site was that I keep seeing HTML 'Tips' sites that offered wrong or bad information. I see this bad information being offered and re-offered in message forums and chat sites by people who are often respected there as experts. This bad information gets used and used again by beginners, and then taught and shared over and over, and I think that's a poor way to get started.

If you are going to learn HTML you need to develop a foundation of good basic knowledge and application and then build upon that. This site debunks the self-styled experts and gives you the straight goods. It also de-mystifies and penetrates the cloak of secrecy that seems to enshroud the knowledge base of HTML information where some seem to want to keep the good ideas for themselves.

I've tried to make things simple, easy to understand and easy to implement. I've coverered basic HTML (the mark-up language for creating web pages and listing templates) and some intermediate and advanced topics including some CSS (Cascading Style Sheets for page layout), PHP (a dynamic scripting language for automating web pages) and MySQL (an easy to interface database). There is nothing here you shouldn't be able to do.

Are all the answers here? Of course not. I don't pretend to know everything and this site contains only a fraction of what I do know. It does contain a lot of useful information for the beginner who wants to get off on the right foot. As I said, the site will continue to be a work in progress and I'll be adding to it over time.

Is this site the best? Probably not. It's the best for me and it serves its purpose well. If you like it, please feel free to use it. The price is certainly right.

Is this site error free? Also probably not. I go over it regularly and update older information and people point out errors, omissions and bugs and I fix and add things as I can. There is no guarantee, however, that everything is perfect. You are free to use anything posted on this site, but you do so without warranty of any kind and at your own risk. Enjoy!

HTML is a dynamic, almost living subject. It continues to grow and change. As I begin the latest major update of this site in January 2008 HTML is in release version 4.1, with version 5 on the way, and XHTML is in version 1.0. I'll be trying to keep this site updated as new things come along. There are links to sites over which I have no control but I will try to visit those site periodically to ensure the information they offer is also current and reasonably valid. I only link to sites that I believe have sufficient merrit to warrent your visiting them. Sometimes there are things on these sites that are wrong or bad use of HTML, and I certainly don't endorse that however, if the good out weighs the bad by enough to make it worth while, I will provide the link.

Many older HTML codes have been depreciated, that is, although not discontinued they have lost favor in light of new and better codes and methods. Sometimes I will suggest not using a depreciated code and sometimes I consider it is a valid code to use when you are first learning. I will try to explain my reasoning for this in each case. When version 5 of HTML is finally released the term depreciated will have little meaning.

Information on this site is mostly my opinion, my way of doing things. It's worked okay for me through the management and ownership of three commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP) companies, professional management of several commercial web sites, the creation of hundreds of personal web pages and the coding of several thousand HTML documents and business sites. You are welcome to accept or reject anything you find here.

You are welcome to e-mail me with comments or questions. Constructive critism is always welcomed. Irrational flames are just a waste of your time as I know how to use the delete button.

The best address to reach me at is

Stephen B. Henry
(The Wizard Mithrandir)
Originally written: September, 2002.
Updated: January, 2008.