Writing HTML and CSS From the Ground Up

Writing HTML and CSS From the Ground Up

Writing the HTML and CSS code for your website

Basics

2

Old School vs. New SchoolOld school: build site entirely in HTML

Use tables to build “shelves” to put content (headers, navigation, images, footers)

Fixed width tables don’t translate well to other platforms (PDAs, cellphones, widescreen monitors)

Lots of code, often messyNew school: build site in HTML and CSS

HTML, which is just bare-bones content.CSS, which provides format and layout.Code is clean and lean Use tables only for tabular data (row/column format:

names and phone numbers, date and frequency)

3

Why?Separates content from presentation - change

the look of entire site by changing one CSS file. More flexibility and control over sites that will be

seen on a variety of browsers and platforms, including PDA's, cellphones, wide-screen monitors and text-to-speech monitors.

Faster downloadSimple HTML content more “transparent” for text-

to-speech browsers, browsers with images turned off, old browsersNavigation is in lists, paragraphs within paragraph

tags, less code and fewer images in the HTMLHTML uncluttered by code formatting layout and

design 4

XhtmlXHTML is the new HTML

XHTML is the same as HTML, but stricter and cleaner

Fully backwards compatible, but can also work with the coming generation of platforms.

Fewer tags used, fewer attributes usedStricter rules

Use CSS to do the heavy lifting: format and presentation

HTML is content only, so requires fewer tags and attributes

5

HTML tagsTags are applied in pairs, an opening tag and a

closing tag. Everything between the opening and closing tag is affected by the tag.

<h2>Everything between the opening and closing tag is affected by the tag.</h2>

Some tags can have attributes added to them. The <img> tag, for instance, inserts an image onto you page. To define the image source, the size of the image, the alt text of the image and so on, you need to use add attributes to the tag:

<img src="images/staff1.jpg" width="100px" height="50px" border="1px" alt="Pueblo County Extension staff">

6

XHTML In XHTML, the rules are stricter than in HTML:

All tags must be closed, even tags that normally aren't closed in HTML: <br> <img> <input>. WorkAround: <br /> instead of <br>; <img src="pic1" />

Must be closed in reverse order they appear (nesting) <body><h2>My headline</h2></body>

All letters must be lowercaseSome old HTML tags are deprecated, meaning they

won't work in XHTML: <center> <font> <strong>Some attributes are deprecated as well:

background, bgcolor, hspace, vspace, alignValidate code at W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)

. Once validated, they let you have this cool icon for your site:

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8 tags all webpages need<html>

<head> Description, keywords, title, and CSS – or link to external CSS – go here. <title>The title goes here.</title></head><body>All the content of your page goes here.</body></html>

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2 moreDOCTYPE tag, to let the browser know what

"rulebook" your page will follow: <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

You also need to append the <html> tag so that it reads:<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Get these from Dreamweaver, or www.w3.org, or from these lessons

Cut and paste them into every new page you startXHTML is less forgiving than (but preferable to)

HTML“Transitional” is more forgiving than “strict” “Strict” gives you more control than “transitional” 9

CSSInternal CSS start with this line:<style rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"></style>

Note the comment code: External stylesheets use this line:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=“my_styles.css" />

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All The Tags You Need <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><style rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><!—--></style> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-

8" /><meta name="description" content="this is my website" /> <meta name="keywords“ content="keyword one, keyword two“ /><title>My website</title></head><body>All content goes here.</body></html>

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Css syntaxelement {

property-1: value;

property-2: value;

}

body {

background-color: #ded8cc;

font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;

}

#wrapper {

width: 750px;

text-align: left;

}

These properties will be applied to everything within the “body” tags (which is all the content of your page)

These properties will be applied to any tag (usually a div tag) where id=“wrapper”

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Previewing Your PageWebpage should have .htm or .html extensionCSS should have .css extension In browser, go to File> Open File (Firefox) or

File> Open>Browse (IE)Need to preview in several browsers

IE 7 (22% of market*)Firefox 1&2 (37%*)IE 6 (31%*) (tough browser!)IE 5 (2%*) Others (under 4% each*): Safari, Opera, NN 4,

IE 4*Numbers from W3 Schools – February 2008

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Multiple IE BrowsersIE likes to write over previous versions of

itself, and will often not let you install earlier versions

http://tredosoft.com/Multiple_IE will install IE 3, 4, 5, 5.5 and 6 (or any combination of them) on your system

Install IE7 first, then run this Doesn’t play well with Vista

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Building A Page Layout

15

Starting Tags, Meta-contentWe’re going to start with internal CSS, to

keep everything in one documentEasy to split off to external CSS, which we’ll

do laterAdd some basic meta-content:

All within head tags Description <meta name="description" content="this is my website" />

Keyword <meta name="keywords“ content="one, two“ />

Title <title>Title goes here</title>

16

Add Some Basic ContentBetween <body> tags, type this text:My headerHome | Programs | Registration | About Us |

Contact UsStaff My headlineMy contentCSU Home | Extension Home | Webmaster

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Define the bodyIn CSS, between the style tagsApply only those elements that will be default

for all content of all pagesWill affect everything within body tags

(everything!)Font style, background color, “zero out” margins

and paddingbody {background-color: #ded8cc;font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;margin: 0;padding: 0;

}

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Define a heading Tagh1 {

text-align: center;

color: #006633;

font-size: 1.5em;

}

Put headline between <h1> and </h1> tags

A block-level tag, so line breaks are automatically applied before and after

Adding CSS to tags is a blunt instrument approach – affects every instance of that tag

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Div tags You can apply CSS between <div> tags Create an ID in CSS with # followed by ID#header {position: relative;width: 750px;height: 121px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;

}

Then put div tags with IDs around that content you are manipulating

<div id=“header”>My header</div>

Can only be used once per pageGood strategy for one-use structural elements (header,

body, nav bar, footer)

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Define Wrapper, Center WrapperCommon design strategy is to wrap your

content in one big boxUseful for centering, background color,

overall width#wrapper {position: relative;width: 770px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;border: 1px solid #ffffff;}

Put <div id=“wrapper”> just after <body> tag, close it just before closing body tag

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Centering the Wrapper in IE5-6Setting margins to equal values will

center in most browsers, but NOT in IE 6 or before.Add text-align: center; to body CSS for IE

workaroundAdd text-align: left to wrapper CSS to reset it

to left

22

Define Header and Navbar

#header {position: relative;width: 750px;height: 121px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;}

#top {position: relative;width: 750px;height: 45px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;}

Add div tags with appropriate IDs around header and navbar content <div id=“top”></div>

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Reposition Text In Navbar Add these 2 line to center horizontally and

vertically:text-align: center;line-height: 45px; (size of parent element)#top {position: relative;width: 750px;height: 45px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;text-align: center;line-height: 45px;

}

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Define Left And Main columns, Footer#left {position: relative;width: 200px;height: 400px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;}#main {position: absolute;top: 186px;left: 210px;width: 540px;height: 400px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;}#footer {position: relative;width: 750px;height: 45px;margin: 10px;background-color: #dcedd1;text-align: center; line-height: 45px;

}

Notice the #main ID is position: absolute, followed by “top” and “left” valuesPulls it out of the flow of the HTML

Footer CSS is identical to Top CSS

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Result (Firefox, IE5, 5.5, 6, 7)

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Adding Images

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Two Ways To Add images HTML

Use the image tag <img>Add attributes for source, width, height, and alt text<img src=“images/header.jpg” width=“750px” height=“121px” alt=“Colorado State University Extension” />

Note the self-closing tag CSS

Use background-image#header {position: relative;width: 750px;height: 121px;background-image: url(nav-1.jpg);}Background-position (left, right, top, bottom, center)Background-repeat (repeat, repeat-x, repeat-y, no-repeat)

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Adding The Header, Nav And Footer Images Put the header image tag in the HTML

between the header <div>s <img src=“images/header.jpg” width=“750px” height=“121px” alt=“Colorado State University Extension” />

Put nav-1 in the #top CSSbackground-image: url(nav-1.jpg);

background-repeat: repeat-x;

Put nav-2 in the #footer CSSbackground-image: url(nav-2.jpg);


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Adding an Image To the Main Column<img src="heron.jpg" width=“233px” height=“252px” alt=“The Great Grey Heron” align=“left” />

The attribute “align” is depricatedWe’ll learn how to do it via the CSS “float”

property later in the workshopVspace and hspace (set margin areas in

html for images) are depicated tooWe’ll add margins later in CSS

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Result

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Margins, Padding and Borders

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The box model Margin is the area

outside the box Border is the line around

the box itself Padding is the area

between the box and the content of the box

In IE 5 and 6, width of an element INCLUDES border and padding (not the margin)

All other browsers ADD margin, border and padding to width of element 33

Working Around the Width Property Difference There is a “hack” for it:

div { width: 100px; } div { \width: 140px; w\idth: 100px; }

\width resets IE5, IE5.5, IE6 to new width (element width + padding + border)

w\idth sets IE 6 back to real width (element width only)

Won’t work for NN 4 We’ll use this later

34

Margin Values margin: 10px; will put 10 pixel margin on

each sideCan specify different values for top, right,

bottom, leftLike a clock: start at top, work your way

around clockwise margin: 0 10px 0 10px; will put 10px margins on

sides, none on top and bottomFor a single margin value, you can use margin-left, margin-right, margin-top, margin-bottom margin-left: 10px; will estabish a 10 pixel

margin only on the left side 35

Padding Values padding: 10px; will put 10 pixel of padding

on each sideCan specify different values for top, right,

bottom, leftLike a clock: start at top, work your way

around clockwise padding: 0 10px 0 10px; will put 10px margins on

sides, none on top and bottom For a single padding value, you can use padding-left, padding-right, padding-top, padding-bottom padding-left: 10px; will estabish 10 pixels of

padding only on the left side 36

Two Value ShorthandCan specify 2 values, 1st for top/bottom,

2nd for left/right margin: 0 10px; will put 10px margins on sides,

none on top and bottom padding: 0 10px; will put 10px of padding on

sides, none on top and bottom

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Border ValuesLike margins, borders can be done with same

value for all 4 sides, or just for specific sidesUnlike margins, borders have more variables:

Size (e.g. – 2px)Style (e.g. – solid, inset, outset, dashed)Color (e.g. – blue, #cccccc)

border: 2px solid #cccccc; will put a 2 pixel solid gray border around all sides

Border-left: 2px solid #cccccc; will put 2 pixel solid gray border on left border only

38

Rework Padding and MarginRemove lower

margin from #navRemove top, right

and bottom margin form #left

Remove all but right margin from #main

Remove top margin from #footer

Add 10px padding to #left and #main

Add 3px left border to #main 39

Result

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Lists, Links and Navbars

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Lists and LinksGood ideas to make navigation bars or

columns HTML listsThey are easier to manipulate that wayMore “transparent” HTML: since it is

literally a “list” of links, let the end user know that by making it an HTML list

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Html ListsBegin list with <ol> or <ul>

<ol> - ordered list – numbered or lettered (used less often)

<ul> - bullet pointed (they can be removed, or replaced with an image)

End with </ol> or </ul>Each list item is enclosed with <li> and

</li>Within the list tags, you need anchor tags

for the link itself

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Sample Html List Code

Notice the tags are nested together, opening in this order: <ul>,<li>,<a>

Closing in reverse order: </a>, </li>, </ul>

<ul>

<li><a href=“http://www.link1.com/”>link 1</a></li>


<li><a href=‘http://www.link3.com/”>link 3</a></li>


</ul>

Opening list item tag

Opening anchor tag and link

Link text Closing anchor tag

Closing list item tag

Opening unordered list tag

Closing unordered list tag

44

Creating the ListCut the navbar text form the top horizontal

bar, and paste it between the “#left” div tagsAdd a couple more linksAdd anchor tags, list item tags, unordered list

tags

<ul> <li><a href=“#”>Home</a></li><li><a href=“#”>Programs </a></li><li><a href=“#”>Registration </a></li><li><a href=“#”>About Us </a></li><li><a href=“#”>Contact Us </a></li></ul>

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Zeroing out Margins and PaddingIE automatically gives list elements a

margin, Firefox automatically gives them padding

Set both to 0 in the CSS for your <ul> sets all browsers to the same value of 0 so you can set those values on your own

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List style typesDefault is round bullet (disc)Other values for list-style-type

None, circle, disc, squareList-style-image: url(your_image.gif); will

allow you to use your own image for bulletFor ordered lists there are many more

options: upper-roman, lower-roman, upper-alpha, lower-alpha, even hebrew and armenian

List-style-position: inside; will put the bullets inside the whatever container encloses it in the code

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New Css RuleIf you specify a CSS div ID, followed by an

HTML element, it will only effect that HTML element within that specific div

Why? Your manipulation of one list with CSS won’t affect other lists

With all that in mind….

#left ul {list-style-type: none;Margin: 0;Padding: 0;}

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Manipulating list Text, Spacing and Borders#left ul li {font-size: .8em;line-height: 1.5em;border-bottom: 1px solid #ffffff;width: 170px;}This affects only list items within the #left

divLowers font size to 80% of defaultRaises height between lines by 150%Gives each list item a bottom 1 pixel solid

white borderSets the width of that border at 170 pixels

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Adding Link BehaviorsSet the initial state: black, no underline

#left a:link, a:visited {color: #000000;text-decoration: none;}Set the rollover state: white, underline,

green background color

#left a:hover {color: #ffffff;text-decoration: underline;background-color: #75a375;}

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Changing Display From In-Line to Block

In-line elements (like <a>) only affect the text between them

Block level elements are larger – typically insert line breaks before and after (<p>, <h1>)

In this case, it will fill out the background of the block the text is within, rather than just the background of the text

Applied to all states of a: tag within #leftSets width to correspond to length of white

border bottom#left a {display: block;width: 130px;} 51

Result

Initial state

Rollover state (a:hover)

52

Footer linksIn CSS, the #footer, we’ll make them

smaller, closer to the bottomline-height: 65px;

font-size: .7em;

Put them in an <ul> in HTML, within the #footer div

<div id="footer"><ul><li><a href="#">CSU Home </a></li> |<li><a href="#">Extension Home </a></li> | <li><a href="#">Webmaster</a></li></ul></div> 53

Footer LinksSet display from block to in-lineThis turns the block level element list item’s

line breaks off, so you can see list elements on one line (the opposite of what we did with the left nav bar)

#footer ul li { display: inline; }

Notice that this in-line display is applied to a block level element (<li>)

Previously we applied a block display to an in-line element (<a>)

54

Footer Links0 out the margin and padding, set list style

to none#footer ul {list-style-type: none;margin: 0;padding: 0;}

Set initial state to black, no underline#footer a:link, a:visited {color: #000000;text-decoration: none;}#footer a:hover {color: #ffffff;text-decoration: underline;} 55

Result

56

Generic Links

For links in the body of your page, you can simply define the selectors within the context of the #main div id

Good idea for links in the body of the page to be underlined

#main a:link {

text-decoration: underline;

color: #000000;

font-weight: 500;

}

#main a:visited {

text-decoration: underline;

color: #cccccc;

font-weight: 500;

}

#main a:hover {

text-decoration: none;

color: #75a375;

font-weight: 500;

} 57

Cross Browser Design

58

Page in Firefox, IE7, Safari

59

Page in IE6Notice the added space below the footer

60

Page in IE 5, IE5.5Notice the space below the footer and the

right margin

61

Fix for the footer Caused by the 45px line height in #footerSolved with overflow: hidden in #footerDoesn’t allow overflow content to show

62

Box model Hack review div { width: 100px; } div { \width: 140px; w\idth: 100px; }

\width resets IE5, IE5.5, IE6 to new width (element width + padding + border)

w\idth sets IE 6 back to real width (element width only)

63

Fix for the right marginUse the Box Model hack3 widths to work with:

#wrapper, #left, #main

#wrapper {\width: 772px;w\idth: 770px;}

#left {\width: 200px;w\idth: 180px;}

#main {\width: 550px;w\idth: 527px;}

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Floating Images, Boxes And Columns

65

The Float PropertyHTML-only aligning of images uses the

align=“left” or align=“right” attribute in the image or table tag to:Move the image either right or left, andAllow text and/or other content to wrap

around itThe “align” attribute is depricated,

meaning it isn’t supported by strict XHTMLThe CSS (and XHTML friendly) alternative is

the “float” property

66

The Float Property (con’t) float: left; moves an element to the left side of

the containing block, float: right; moves it to the right

Can only float block-level elements (images, paragraphs, lists, div tagged elements), not in-line elements

Specify the width of the floated element (unless it’s a image)

Floats won’t affect anything above them in the HTML, but will wrap around anything below it (until it is cleared)

Clear the float in the next non-floated element of your layoutclear: left, clear: right, or clear: both 67

Adding Float ID to Image in HTMLYou don’t have to surround a floated element

with div tagsYou can put the CSS ID directly into the

element tag <img src=“images/pic1” id=“lfloat”>

#lfloat {float: left;margin: 10px;}

The id of “lfloat” in the image tag will float the image left, text will wrap around the float

68

Reusing Image FormatsSet a class for left and right alignment of

imagesUse “.” instead of “#” in CSS, “class”

instead of “id” in HTMLUse class=“lfloat” or class=“rfloat” in the

HTML tag whenever you insert a picture

<img src=“images/pic1” class=“lfloat”>

.lfloat {float: left;margin: 10px;}

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Floating columnsOur current page has a hard-wired height of

400pxWon’t accommodate more content or end

users/browsers with larger default text sizeRe-design page so that:

Main column is position: relativeNeither column has a height propertyBoth columns are floated leftFloats are cleared in the footer

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Floating the left column#left {

position: relative;

float: left;

width: 180px;

margin: 0 0 0 10px;

background-color: #dcedd1;

padding: 10px;

display: inline;

}

71

Added code (height property was removed)

The display: inline; code is to defeat the “double margin” bug in IE, where a floated element doubles the margin it is floated against

Floating the main column#main {

position: relative;

float: left;

width: 327px;

margin: 0 10px 0 0;


border-left: 3px solid #ffffff;

padding: 10px;

display: inline;

}

72

Added code (position property changed from absolute to relative; height, top and left properties were removed)

The display: inline; code is to defeat the “double margin” bug in IE, where a floated element doubles the margin it is floated against

Clearing the floats#footer {

position: relative;

width: 750px;

margin: 0 10px 10px 10px;


background-image: url(nav-2.jpg);


height: 45px;

text-align: center;

line-height: 65px;

font-size: .7em;

overflow: hidden;

clear: both;

}

73

Added code

2 IE Bugs Using FloatsThe Double Margin Problem

Floating columns in IE6 and prior often double the margin on the side it is being floated against

display: inline; inside the floated element solves the problem

The 3 Pixel ProblemIE6 and prior often put a 3 pixel margin on

the far side of the float (i.e. on the right side of a left floated column)

Float both columns, not just one

74

Extending the Left Column Down Easy way:

Make the background color of the wrapper the same color as the column (background-color: #dcedd1;)

Works well, but colors the margins as wellNot quite as easy way:

Build a CSS box containing #left and #main Stretch a graphic down the box with 10px margins on

the side, middle 750px the column background color#midbox {width: 770px;background-image: url(bg-margins.gif);background-repeat: repeat-y;overflow: auto;}overflow: auto; allows the image to extend down in

Firefox

Won’t work in IE5

75

Creating a Third Column The “faux column” techniqueSame technique as the margins, just swap

out the graphic to bg-2col.gif #midbox {

width: 770px;background-image: url(bg-2col.gif);background-repeat: repeat-y;overflow: auto;}

Take background-color: #dcedd1; out of #leftColumn is defined not by CSS, but by the

graphic (thus it is a “faux” cloumnWon’t work in IE5

76

Using Css Classes

77

Html vs. CssHtml uses <b></b>,

<i></i>,<em></em> to change the appearance of specific bits of text

CSS uses classes of properties so that the same appearance (or set of properties) can quickly and easily be used over and over again

These are “in-line” changes in the text, as opposed to “block”

Unlike div IDs, these can be used multiple times in the same page

78

Class SelectorsUnlike div IDs, which can only be used

once, class slectors can be used over and over again

Useful for manipulations you plan to use frequently (different font for code, add italics and bold for emphasis)

79

Class Syntax.strong {

color: red;

font-weight: bold;

font-style: italic;

}

.code {

font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;

font-size: 95%;

}

Apply for the conference by <span class=“strong”>March 22nd</span> to receive the professional discount

Use the <span class=“code”>position</span> property.Two word font styles need to be surrounded with

quotes

80

StylesYou can create CSS “on the fly” in your HTML

without bothering with your CSS Put your CSS within the style attribute within a

span tagThis word is <span style="color:#0000FF;">blue</span>

Notice the syntax is the same as the syntax for CSS:property: value;

For purposes of the HTML, put it inside quotesMultiple properties and values can be used,

just separate with semi-colons<span style="color:#0000FF; font-style: bold;">bold

blue </span>81

External CSS

82

Internal vs. externalInternal CSS (CSS inside your webpage) defeats

one of the main purposes of CSS, which is having the same look and layout for all your pages

To pull your CSS out of your webpage and make it externalGet rid of comment code  Change “style” to “link”Add an href attribute that points to your new

stylesheetCut out all of your CSS (including the closing tag!)

and put it in a new documentNew doc must have .css extensionShould be the name referred to in your href attribute

83

Internal CSS vs. External CSSInternal CSS line<style rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css”>

External CSS line<link rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css” href=“styles1.css”>

styles1.css is the name of your css document

Include the new <link… line of code in all your webpages

84

Site Structure and Directory Structure

85

Start With a Pencil and PaperFigure out a simple, logical and scalable

arrangement of files and foldersDesign with growth in mind

A web site is NOT a junk drawerThink of folders as individual drawers where similar

files goEach major page gets its own folder (About Us,

Contact Us may be exceptions)All images in one folderAll documents in one folder (if there aren’t many)

All documents in each subject area in one folder (4h_docs)

All documents in each subject area broken down by year into individual folders (4h_07_docs, 4h_08_docs)

86

Sample Site StructureHome page (index.html)

4H page Family/consumer page Horticulture pageAgriculture page

About Us Contact Us

Calendars, documents and links specific to topic




2nd level pages with little upkeep

2nd level pages requiring own folders

87

Sample Directory StructureIndex.html

4H folder

Family/consumer folder

4h.html

Horticulture folder

Agriculture folder

Abou.html

Cont.html

Images folder

4h_docs folder

agri_docs folder

fami_docs folder

hort_docs folder

agri.html

fami.html

hort.html

CSS folder

(contains all images)

(contains all stylesheets) 88

Sample Directory Structure

89

Other ResourcesW3 (http://www.w3.org/)A List Apart (http://www.alistapart.com/)W3 Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/)CSS Zen Garden (

http://www.csszengarden.com/)Demo of new Extension website (

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/template08_test_site/)

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Date post:	02-Jan-2016
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Writing HTML and CSS From the Ground Up

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