HTML CSS - Difference Between HTML And CSS - October 3rd, 2024

HTML CSS is the web scripting languages that form the core of web development. HTML and CSS form the basis for creating web applications and web pages. They share many similarities being a front-end framework, however, there are certain differences which you must be aware of.

In HTML we use tags and elements to specify whether a word or paragraph given is a heading, paragraph, link, ending, or beginning. With CSS we can represent how our element will be displayed to the users, such as colors, text color, font type, background images, background colors, font size, etc.

HTML lets you form the structure of a web page while CSS is used to put style elements in your web page and make it look attractive. This is not all we will learn more about these two scripting languages in detail in this article.

Table of Contents

What is HTML?

HTML or Hyper Text Markup Langauge is a web scripting language used to structure various elements on web pages like text, images, links, forms, and other media elements. The basic structure of a website or application is based on HTML. For example, check a simple example of an HTML document below.

HTML Document

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<title>My First HTML Page</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>

<p>This is a paragraph of text on my first web page.</p>

<a href=”https://www.example.com”>Visit Example.com</a>

</body>

</html>

All HTML document starts with <!DOCTYPE html> which is used to tell browsers that this document is an HTML document. HTML consists of tags used to define all major sections of the web pages. It is used to mark headings, links, paragraphs, body, etc. Let us break down the above elements to get a clear picture.

<!DOCTYPE html>: It is used to specify the type of document i,e HTML5
<html>.. </html>: It is a root element of an HTML page that contains the entire web page.
<head>: Contains the metadata about the document, such as the title of the web page, links, etc.
<title>: It is used to specify the title of the element.
<body>: It contains the web page’s content, such as headings, paragraphs, lists, and images.
<h1> to <h6>: Defines the heading (H1 is the page’s largest and most important heading and H6 is the smallest heading and least important.).
<p>: Defines the paragraph of the text.
<a>..</a>: It consists of the clickable link inside.

What is CSS?

CSS or Cascading Style Sheet is also a style sheet language used to describe the presentation and formatting of documents written in HTML or XML. CSS is used to define how the elements on web pages should be displayed to the users.

It basically enhances the visual outcome of the layout of web pages by making customization in background color, text color, text size, font size, font types, and other effects. Check a simple example of the CSS stylesheet given below.

CSS Document

/* External CSS file (styles.css) */

body {

font-family: Arial, sans-serif;

background-color: #f0f0f0;

}

h1 {

color: #333333;

text-align: center;

}

p {

font-size: 16px;

line-height: 1.5;

color: #666666;

}

a {

color: #1a73e8;

text-decoration: none;

}

a: hover {

text-decoration: underline;

}

You can easily enhance any HTML tags such as Paragraph (p), h1, h2, etc, and add customizations like text decoration, font size, text alignment, color, background color, font family, and a lot more. This helps web pages look more lively and uniform.

There are three methods to apply CSS in an HTML document

Inline Style: All the CSS rules are enclosed within the HTML element Style attribute.
Inline Style Sheet: All CSS rules are specified in the head section of an HTML document enclosed within the head section of the document.
External Style Sheet: CSS rules are enclosed in a separate CSS file and the link is attached in the HTML document using <link> tage enclosed in the head section of the HTML document.

HTML CSS: Key Takeaways

HTML and CSS both are part of web development used to develop applications and web pages.
HTML is used to define the structure and content of the web page while CSS is used to define the presentation and layout of the web page.
HTML uses tags to define various elements and CSS uses various properties and attributes to define the structure of elements.

Features of HTML

Let us know some of the major features of HTML below.

HTML is used to describe the structure of a web page or application using tags. It consists of more than 100 tags used to describe the fundamental components of a web page.
HTML is supported by almost all major browsers used today.
HTML5 introduced semantic elements like <header>, <footer>, <article>, and <section> to give easier accessibility and easy SEO.
HTML uses links to connect one web page to the other. It follows a tree structure to arrange the elements in a web page.

Features of CSS

Let us know some of the major features of CSS below.

CSS or Cascading Style Sheet Language is used to provide styling to the web pages and applications.
It is used to enhance the presentation and layout of the web page and how it is displayed to the users.
CSS can be integrated into an HTML document using three ways, inline, internal, and external.
CSS provides various selectors to target HTML elements such as ID selectors, attribute selectors, and pseudo-class selectors.
CSS Box model is used to define the design and layout of a web page. It includes margins, borders, padding, and content.
With the help of CSS creating responsive web design is possible.

Difference Between HTML and CSS in Web Development

HTML CSS consists of many differences which must be kept in mind. Let us know some major differences in the table below.

HTML	CSS
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language	CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet.
It is a markup language	It is a style sheet language.
It defines the structures and content of the web pages.	It is used to define the style and layout of the web page.
It uses tags enclosed in angle brackets such as <p>, <a>, <div>, etc.	It consists of selectors used to define the layouts of various HTML elements.
It consists of the actual content of the web page enclosed within the tags.	It consists of styling rules for the content defined in an HTML document.
The file extension for HTML documents is .html or .htm	The file extension for CSS documents is .css
It is used to define content only no box model is used.	It uses a box model to define content, padding, margin, border, and other
It can be implemented without using CSS.	It needs HTML elements to be applied.

Why Css Needs Html To Work?

CSS cannot be implemented without HTML as it is used to design the layout and presentation of HTML elements. Without HTML elements CSS cannot be used in the web pages.

CSS uses ID and Class selectors to target specific HTML elements and optimize their style and appearance. Without HTML elements there would be nothing to style on the web page.
CSS is responsible for defining how the content is rendered on the web page. Without HTML there is no content to be displayed.
CSS uses the Box model to apply style to various elements such as Borders, margins, padding, and content. These elements are defined by HTML in the first place.
CSS can style interactive elements like buttons, forms, links, etc but there needs to be HTML in the first place.

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HTML CSS FAQs

What is the basic difference between HTML and CSS?

HTML is used to define the structure of the web page while CSS is used to define the presentation and layout of a web page.

Can CSS be used without HTML?

No, CSS requires HTML elements to use various attributes such as color, text, margin, padding, display, etc.

What is the CSS used for HTML?

CSS is a stylesheet language used to define the layout and presentation of HTML elements in a web page. It is used to define how the elements present in HTML are to be rendered on the screen or other media.