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WordPress and HTML, should you learn both?
Since WordPress has become a very popular content management system (CMS), there are actually many developers who don’t know HTML or CSS.
That’s pretty weird!
You should definitely learn at least the basics of web design and coding to understand how your website is built and what’s really happening behind the scenes.
After learning some HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and a little about MySQL to work on my own websites, I would say that you only need to learn WordPress to build a website and use it.
However, after learning something about all of the above code formats, I must say that they all have at least helped me to understand how things work on my WordPress site and where to look if I want to add, improve or fix an issue, if something goes wrong.
It can be helpful in some situations but not all.
Before I get into this topic let me tell you something interesting I found out about HTML.
A little fun fact is that the letters “HTML” stand for Hyper Text Markup Language.
It’s a markup language in which you will see lots of tags with angled brackets “<>” and straight quotes ‘”‘ surrounding text or code.
Now, let me just get into the point…
If you want to learn HTML and CSS, you should go for it! It’s useful to know what’s really happening behind the scenes (sort of like an element hidden from view).
Also, if you look at a website made with WordPress, they may have custom templates which were most likely coded in HTML.
There are some situations where WordPress is pretty awesome though. For example, when you want to manage lots of content on your site and share it with your team.
WordPress makes it easy for many people in an organization or business to update the website’s content without knowing how to code.
Can you use HTML in WordPress?
Yes, you can use HTML in WordPress. As long as the code is not malicious and does not add viruses or malware to your site, then there should be no problem.
The WP Codex defines “HTML” as: Hyper Text Markup Language – a programming language used to create web pages.
When it comes to using HTML in WordPress, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Using HTML can sometimes mess up a page.
It should only be used to enhance the function of your website and should not be used for spamming or malicious purposes.
This means you should never use code just for the sake of spamming other sites or getting traffic to your own site.
Using HTML can sometimes mess up a page and cause problems with your website design and functionality as well as your SEO. And you never want to do anything that will mess up the search rankings for your content.
You should always keep track of what you use on any given blog or website, including HTML code, because it can cause problems with your site.
Sometimes, using HTML can create difficulties in updating or changing content that is already on your website.
This means you must be extra careful when editing the code to make sure it does not affect any of your content.
You should never use HTML to give yourself more link juice (PageRank) since you will only be hurting your SEO in the long run.
It is best to keep HTML to a minimum and use only what you know will not cause problems with your website.
This, of course, also means that you should not copy and paste code just because someone else says it’s okay (or they give you free stuff); you should always do your own research and testing to determine if it is safe for your website.
How is HTML used in WordPress?
WordPress makes use of HTML to provide a rich and customizable experience for users.
WordPress can interpret both basic HTML tags as well as those with classes and IDs, JavaScript, CSS selectors, etc.
Essentially, it’s best to consider WordPress a lighter-weight CMS that is powered by the core of PHP rather than an application framework that uses HTML as its template language.
WordPress has the ability to use HTML in a variety of ways, including:
Embedded HTML content.
WordPress supports embedding raw HTML into posts and pages via shortcode.
This is often used by plugin authors who wish to provide documentation or examples of how their plugins work.
Embedding HTML in this way is no different than pasting it into the page source with Dreamweaver or another HTML editor.
Comments.
WordPress supports both threaded comments as well as basic HTML forms. This is an important way it differentiates itself from other popular blogging platforms like Blogger (which only support the latter).
Post titles, headings, and subheadings.
WordPress makes use of title and heading tags to provide a structure and hierarchy to the information you publish and share online.
Text formatting.
WordPress uses HTML tags for text formatting like underline, strike-through, subscripts/superscripts, block quotes, lists (unordered and ordered), etc.
As with comments, this is an important way it distinguishes itself from other blogging platforms.
HTML widgets.
WordPress supports the use of HTML-based “widgets” for displaying lists, feeds, ads, quotes, or pretty much whatever you want to feature on your website. Unlike comments and post titles/content, however, WordPress does not natively support widgetized regions in themes out of the box.
Plugins & Themes (and more).
WordPress has a rich plugin and theme ecosystem that supports the ability to embed just about anything into your website.
That includes HTML ads, feeds, embedded objects (YouTube videos, tweets, etc.), custom widgets, etc.
The possibilities are only limited by the APIs and features each platform provides.
What’s the difference between WordPress and an HTML website?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to create and maintain your website by providing an interface for managing your content, themes, plugins, etc.
An HTML website is just the opposite. It requires no special platform or backend in order to publish content online. Just edit the files directly on your computer, upload them to a server, and you’re live!
WordPress is powered by the core of PHP. HTML is used for templates.
An HTML website (not to be confused with static websites or flat HTML files) doesn’t use PHP at all – it’s just static files like images, CSS, and JavaScript.
WordPress focuses on content management and layout customization via themes and widgets/plugins. An HTML website is just the opposite.
It’s a baseline of barebones markup that simply displays information as given to it by the designer or developer.
As such, there isn’t much flexibility for dynamic content like you might find in a CMS.
WordPress is an application framework that uses HTML as its template language. An HTML website is just the opposite. It’s just a standard, static markup that displays content on your site.
WordPress and HTML for building a website, final thoughts.
The best way to learn HTML is by using it. Try building a basic website without any WordPress knowledge and then use this code to edit the site’s appearance, colors, or layout.
You don’t even need to know how to write HTML in order for your changes to take effect!
It’s always best to learn as much as you can about how your site is built so that you’re able to customize the design even more.
Don’t let another day go by without making yourself knowledgeable about all aspects of the web development process, including HTML!
