HTML is a scripting language that is used to layout web pages so that browsers can display these pages as the author intended. It may be augmented using server-side scripting languages like PHP or ASP, with or without style elements contained in Cascading Style Sheets. You can use WYZIWYG editors to create your web pages. These usually write HTML code with some style elements, or may be simple drag-and drop interfaces. Whatever the method you use to generate your web pages, they are underpinned by HTML. You can read the current excerpt of our HTML manual by following the link to the left side of this page.

You will find it useful to know basic HTML so that you can fine-tune your web page design, or debug errors in your pages. You may also want to include some style elements in Cascading Style Sheets so that you can change the look of your site easily. You can also use PHP or ASP to reduce maintenance of your site.

We have included a few free HTML web page designs as templates for you to use as you wish. To find these, follow the link on the left of this page. More will be added as they become available.

PHP is a popular scripting language that operates on a web server and permits you to interact with a user to respond appropriately to web page input. You can

• Collect form data such as user details or order information
• On your web page, display only the subset of content in which your user is interested

It is used to generate web pages as and when required. It can operate on servers running Windows, Linux and UNIX (including Macintosh System X).