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As a Non-Developer, why learn HTML when there is WordPress?
In this post, I’m going to talk about why you should learn HTML when there is WordPress as well as what you can do with HTML to make your WordPress websites much easier to work on and run. But first, let’s clarify the difference between HTML and WordPress and why you will find that it’s best to learn both since they work so well together.
HTML is actually not a programming language, but a markup language. WordPress on the other hand, is a content management system otherwise known as a CMS. All web pages whether they are made with WordPress or any other CMS are built from HTML
Although technically WordPress has evolved enough to the point where a Non-Developer really doesn’t need to know HTML or any other coding in order to build and run a great looking website, learning HTML can only enhance and make your WordPress experience much easier.
Is it better to learn WordPress or HTML?
To choose which is better to learn, WordPress or HTML, doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. Why not learn both?
Although WordPress does have a learning curve and may take you a bit of time to learn, you can learn HTML in just under two days. That’s if you’re taking your time.
Although to be fair, you can get a website up and live on the internet using WordPress within three or four hours at most. Probably half that time for many of you. So again, why not learn both?
Is HTML needed for WordPress?
HTML is needed not only for WordPress, but for every other CMS. In fact, if you were to build a website from scratch without any CMS you would still need to know HTML. HTML is basically the structure of all web pages and posts on the internet. There’s just no way around it.
Now, do you need HTML to use WordPress? Absolutely not. WordPress has evolved so much that you can basically do anything using their block editors and page builders that you could do by hard coding in HTML.
How long does it take to learn HTML?
HTML is one of the easiest web languages to learn. Unlike programming languages such as PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, Python etc. HTML is, as mentioned above, a markup language. You can basically learn HTML within one or two days.
Yes, learning HTML is that easy. That’s why if you are going to have a website or even plan on publishing anything on the internet, it behooves you to learn HTML.
You can either learn it while learning WordPress, before learning WordPress or even after. Although WordPress can be a lifelong learning experience.
My advice would be to learn HTML first or at least while you were setting up your WordPress website.
Of course you could set up your WordPress website without any HTML, but by learning HTML you will understand how your page looks to the web browsers that are rendering your post/page content to your readers.
Where can I learn HTML?
There are a number of places where you can learn HTML. You can sign up for a paid HTML course online through any number of reputable e-learning companies. Or you can learn HTML for free.
Here are a couple of websites you should check out to learn HTML for free.
You might even have some fun building a few things with it. What I do know for sure is, it will definitely not be time wasted.
What can I do with HTML?
Here are just some of the things you can do with HTML either in WordPress or on most other web platforms.
- Create Links: If you’re monetizing your website through affiliate links for example, HTML is good for quickly putting in those links in areas where you don’t have a built in editor.
- Quickly Bold, Italicize, Underline text.
- Add Bullet Points.
- Add a Numbered List.
- Add or Edit a Table.
- Embed Videos from YouTube straight into your content.
- Put in Google Analytics and Search Console code throughout your website without the need of an additional plugin.
And so much more.
Use HTML to analyse other websites including your competitors.
By quickly learning just the basics of HTML, you’ll be able to make some sense out of the ‘View Source’ tab when you right-click on a page.
Yet now you’ll be able to really grasp the value and depth of information you can get from it when analysing other websites, including your competitors.
You’ll be able to, for example, find out:
- What styling elements they used.
- How their layout was created.
- Who created their theme.
- Which plugins they are using.
- Which keywords they may be targeting by analysing the H-tags, titles and other mark-up information.
- Which advertisers and affiliate programs they may be monetizing their site with.
Is WordPress coding?
WordPress is not coding unlike HTML. WordPress is a CMS, as I have mentioned above. WordPress does though use and is built from coding. The coding or programming language WordPress is built on is called PHP.
Is HTML worth learning?
Since the time investment of learning HTML is so short, it is more than worth learning. If you are regularly working on your website, making content links and other stylistic features when publishing new content on your WordPress website, then tweaking and making adjustments to those pages may be much easier and faster if you do know HTML, than if you didn’t.
In fact, sometimes page builders and editors can be a bit clunky when implementing even the smallest of stylistic changes to a page, like adding bullet points, a list, a table etc.
Sometimes you may have to go into the HTML part of the post or page and make a few tweaks in order to get the post/page looking the way you would like it to look.
This is when you will certainly be glad that you’ve learned HTML.
Knowing HTML is like knowing how to fix a flat tire instead of waiting for a tow truck to come along and fix it for you.
Why learn HTML when there is WordPress, conclusions.
You don’t need to choose between learning HTML and WordPress. In fact, you should learn them both.
Learning HTML is a great first step into understanding the concepts of coding. It is also the easiest.
If you learn HTML, you’ll gradually begin to get a handle on the fundamentals of coding, this will make learning another programming language (like JavaScript, Python, or PHP) a whole lot easier to get your head around.
Once you are comfortable with concepts of coding, you may decide to learn an actual programming language. This will not only take your WordPress and web development skills to a whole new level, but it’ll also open up a whole new range of opportunities by becoming a Web Developer yourself.
