The Only HTML You Need to Know

I was being a bit flippant in class, but if all you know how to do is code Web links in HTML, you'll be a fine blogger. There are tons of HTML primers available -- this is a good place to start -- but, really, all you need how to do is two things.

One, make a link. The code to make a link is a staple -- and should be the first thing you learn. If you were to take out the spaces, a link to this article -- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/science/06cat.html?ex=1180756800&en=36e1735cc84caa80&ei=5070 -- would look like this:

< a h r e f = " http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/science/06cat.html?ex=1180756800&en=36e1735cc84caa80&ei=5070 " > This is the text you want linked. < / a >

That would show up as:

This is the text you want linked.

I can show you a shortcut in Blogger in class.

The second thing you want to know how to do is how to set aside quotes or excerpted text. That's called a block quote, and that's the code: again, with spaces,

< b l o c k q u o t e >The text you want indented.< / b l o c k q u o t e >

Why do I put in the spaces? To trick Blogger into thinking I'm not really inserting code so you can see the text. There might be a better way. I'll try to find one.

Questions? Email me. I'll do my best to answer quickly.

But seriously, those two things are all you really need to know. Also, don't be shy to experiment. You can't really break the Web, and you can always clean up your blog.