Understanding content creation and blog optimization is essential when starting a personal blog. Once you create your content, it’s time to structure it effectively. That’s so you can publish and share it with your readers in the ideal form.
In this article, we’ll zoom in on content’s front-end design or content layout. You’re reading this text as a paragraph, and that’s thanks to HTML. HTML is what structures content blocks to differentiate headings, paragraphs, lists, links, tables, images, and more.
Source: Freepik
Want to make those content blocks look beautiful to increase readability and attract readers? CSS is here to help! It works with HTML to enhance the beauty of your content. We’ll highlight the importance of both HTML + CSS in content creation. Then, there’s a step-by-step tutorial on quickly creating your very own HTML blog post.
We’ll be keeping the language simple, so everyone can easily follow along. Let’s get started!
What is HTML in Blogging?
Source: Freepik
As mentioned earlier, a blog post is made up of some essential elements. These include paragraphs, headings, lists, tables, images, etc. These elements work together to create a meaningful and engaging blog post. They create a clear hierarchy within your blog post making it easier for readers to navigate and understand your content structure.
Ever thought about how this happens? HTML (HyperText Markup Language) helps achieve this functionality. It uses various tags and attributes to define and format the content elements or blocks.
As the backbone of content structuring, HTML organizes your blog post content into paragraphs, headings, and lists. It allows you to format text, embed images/ videos, and include links for optimal reader experience. Moreover, it supports easy navigation for the reader with tables of contents and anchor links.
How is HTML Connected to CSS?
HTML and CSS function cohesively to create engaging and visually appealing blog posts for readers. While HTML structures the content, CSS styles its layout, managing fonts, colors, and spacing.
Without CSS, HTML displays as plain text, lacking visual appeal. Therefore, CSS is essential for an attractive blog layout.
What is CSS in Blogging?
Source: Content Gorilla
As illustrated above, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) beautifies your content. Its main function is to enhance your content’s appearance. You can experiment with different colors, fonts, and layouts it offers.
Let’s see how it works. Using selectors, CSS targets specific HTML elements, applying rules like fonts, colors, typography, positioning, and spacing to enhance the content’s presentation. This allows for customization across the blog post, improving readability further and creating an aesthetic visual experience.
With CSS, you can also adjust the blog design to fit various devices and screen sizes, improving the user experience.
How is CSS Connected to HTML?
Source: Giphy
CSS relies on HTML for the structure and content elements it needs to style. HTML provides elements like headings, paragraphs, images, lists, etc. CSS then adds design touches to them, enhancing the usability of the content.
Without HTML, CSS wouldn’t have the targets to style, making it hard to create visually appealing blog posts.
HTML Codes Important for Blogging
The following HTML tags are commonly used in HTML blog posts.
| HTML Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <!DOCTYPE html> | …defines the document type and version of HTML and is positioned at the beginning. |
| <body> | …contains all the content of a webpage within. |
| <title> | …is used in the header section and defines the blog title. |
| <h1> – <h6> | …are heading tags with h1 as the highest and h6 as the lowest level. |
| <p> | …helps you create and represent paragraphs in the blog post. |
| <li> | …defines a list item and is used within <ul> (unordered list) or <ol> (ordered list) block. |
| <table> | …helps you create a table in HTML. |
| <img src=’’ alt=’’> | …helps in embedding images in an HTML document. |
| <br> | …helps you in inserting a line break within your text. |
| <span> | …defines a text span for styling without creating a new line. |
| <div> | …is used as a container that divides an HTML document into sections. |
| <blockquote> | …formats text as a block quote. |
How to Create a Simple HTML Blog Post?
Source: Freepik
Brace yourself as you’re about to create your own simple HTML blog post with our step-by-step guidance!
- Open a text editor, e.g. Notepad or Sublime Text.
- Create an HTML file and save it with a “.html” extension.
- Insert the DOCTYPE declaration at the top of your HTML file. Doing so tells the browser that you’re using HTML5.
- Define the basic structure of your blog post. It typically consists of these tags: <html>, <head>, and <body>. Write these HTML tags below <!DOCTYPE html>.
- Now, you can add headings and paragraphs within the <body> element. Use any of <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6> tags for different headings levels (according to format and size). To write a paragraph, use the <p> tag.
- Now, let’s add images to our blog post. To include an image, use the <img> tag.
- To link external resources to your post, use the hyperlinking <a> tag as shown below.
- Now apply CSS styling to make your blog post visually attractive. For this, you need to create a separate CSS file. If you don’t want to do so, you can include inline styles within the <head> section using the <style> tag. Let’s take a look at an example of inline styling:
Congrats! Your simple HTML blog post is ready!
Are you looking for the best content writing templates to get content ideas? Check out our out-of-the-ordinary yet simple blog HTML template! And don’t forget to align your content with these blog post best practices.
FAQs
Can I write a blog without HTML?
Yes, you can write a blog without HTML using an easy-to-use content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Medium. Such blogging platforms tackle HTML themselves, letting you focus on your writing and graphics.
How to make edits in a blog post HTML?
To edit a blog post’s HTML, you can use a text editor to modify its code directly. Locate the section where you want to make changes and edit it. Alternatively, if you’re using a CMS, you can access a dashboard (or an editor), allowing you to make edits to your blog post content.
What is the main tag in HTML?
The main tag in HTML is the <html> tag. It represents the root element of an HTML document and encloses all other elements.
Conclusion
All things considered, knowing the basics of HTML and CSS is a strong suit for content creators like you. It helps you make your blog post’s content + design both stand out. This skill set lets you personalize your blog posts whenever needed to enhance the reader experience.
We aimed to explain the technical aspects of writing an HTML blog post in a pretty easy manner. We hope you now have a better understanding of how to work on your personal blog design. For more help, try using our Free Blog Post Idea Generator to find topics for your content.
I am a full-time online marketer, for over a decade now. Helped over 100,000+ people & generated well over $12M in online sales.