Guide · HTML

How to make a website with HTML

Quick answer

To make a website with HTML, create a folder, save a file named index.html with a doctype, UTF-8 charset, mobile viewport tag, title and content, add a style.css file and images beside it, and test in a browser. To publish, upload the folder's contents to your hosting web root and open the domain.

For beginners, students and small-business owners building a simple website by hand without WordPress or a site builder.

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Read time: 4 min
Sections: 7
Updated: 14 Nov 2026
Written by: WebJi® team

Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.

What do you need to make a website with HTML?

You need a plain-text code editor, one folder on your computer and a web browser; a domain and hosting are only needed when you put the finished files online. No database, WordPress or design software is required for a simple HTML site.

Editor: a code editor such as Visual Studio Code, or Notepad with file extensions shown; word processors add hidden formatting.
Folder: one folder that holds every page, stylesheet and image of the site.
Browser: to open and test each page locally.
Later: a domain such as a .in domain at ₹1,000 a year and hosting to publish.

Use lowercase file names without spaces, such as about-us.html. Web servers on Linux treat Photo.JPG and photo.jpg as different files, a common cause of images that work locally and break online.

How do you write your first HTML page?

Create index.html in the folder with an HTML5 doctype, a UTF-8 character set, a mobile viewport tag, a title and visible content, then open it in your browser. The viewport line is what makes the page fit a phone screen.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Sharma Sweets, Jaipur</title>
  <meta name="description" content="Fresh mithai and namkeen in Malviya Nagar, Jaipur.">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <nav><a href="index.html">Home</a> | <a href="contact.html">Contact</a></nav>
  </header>
  <main>
    <h1>Sharma Sweets</h1>
    <p>Fresh mithai made daily since 1998.</p>
    <img src="images/shop.jpg" alt="Sweet counter at Sharma Sweets" width="800" height="533">
  </main>
  <footer><p>Call 0141-XXXXXXX</p></footer>
</body>
</html>

The <title> appears in the browser tab and search results; <header>, <main> and <footer> tell browsers, screen readers and search engines what each part is. Setting lang="hi" on a Hindi page helps them read Devanagari correctly.

How do you add CSS styling and images?

Create style.css beside index.html, link it in the head, and keep images in an images folder referenced by relative paths such as images/shop.jpg. Give every image alt text and its width and height to avoid layout jumps.

/* style.css */
body { font-family: system-ui, sans-serif; margin: 0 auto; max-width: 60rem; padding: 1rem; line-height: 1.6; }
nav a { margin-right: 1rem; }
img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; }
@media (max-width: 600px) { body { padding: 0.75rem; } }

Paths starting with / point to the site root, which behaves differently on your computer than on a server; relative paths work in both places. Compress photos before using them; decreasing image file size shows how.

How should you organise a multi-page HTML site?

Keep one HTML file per page in the main folder, with shared CSS and images in subfolders, and link pages to each other with relative links in a common navigation block.

mysite/
├── index.html        ← home page, must be named index.html
├── about.html
├── contact.html
├── style.css
└── images/
    ├── logo.svg
    └── shop.jpg

Before publishing, run each page through the free W3C Markup Validation Service to catch unclosed tags, and test on a phone. A contact form needs a server-side script or form service, since plain HTML cannot send email by itself.

How do you put an HTML website online?

Point your domain at a hosting account, upload the contents of your site folder into the web root so index.html sits at the top level, then open the domain in a private window. Upload the folder's contents, not the folder itself.

Check every page and image path works locally.
Create the hosting account and note the web root, often public_html.
Upload with the panel's file manager or an FTP client; the FTP upload guide walks through FileZilla.
Open https://yourdomain.in in a private window and fix any broken paths.

If the domain shows the host's default page, a placeholder index file is still in the root or your files landed one folder too deep.

Which hosting suits a static HTML website?

A static HTML site is just files, so entry shared hosting is enough: WebJi® Webji Launch costs ₹299 a month, ₹2,868 a year or ₹6,804 for three years, before 18% GST, with free SSL and a global CDN. WebJi® has no separate free static plan.

The same static site hosting rows are the shared plans, so PHP or a CMS can be added later on the same account. These plans use ControlPanel.Systems rather than cPanel. Checkout confirms the final amount. For a site with several staff mailboxes, Webji Turbo at ₹399 a month includes unlimited email accounts.

When should an HTML website move to WordPress?

Move to WordPress when people who will not edit HTML need to publish posts, update pages or manage forms; stay with HTML while the site is a few fixed pages you are happy to edit as files. Switching is a content migration, not a hosting change.

Stay with HTML: a five-page business card site, a landing page, a portfolio you update rarely.
Move to WordPress: a blog, frequent price or menu changes, several editors, or a shop.

The move is covered in converting an HTML site to WordPress.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a website with only HTML and no CSS?

Yes, it will work and be readable, but it will use the browser's plain default styling. Even a few lines of CSS for width, font and spacing make a large difference, especially on phones.

How long does it take to learn enough HTML for a simple site?

Most beginners can build a basic multi-page site within a few days of practice, using the core tags for headings, paragraphs, links, images and lists. Layout with CSS takes longer to master, but simple layouts are quick to learn.

Will an HTML website rank on Google?

Yes. Google ranks pages by content and usefulness, not by whether they use a CMS. Static HTML pages are fast, which helps. Give each page a unique title, a clear H1, a meta description and descriptive links between pages.

Can I add a contact form to an HTML site?

The form's fields are plain HTML, but sending the message needs something on the server, such as a small PHP script on your hosting or a third-party form service. A mailto: link is the simplest alternative, though it relies on the visitor's email app.

Markup checked against the WHATWG HTML Living Standard · WebJi® prices as published on the static site hosting page · Reviewed by the WebJi® team, Jaipur.

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