If you’re just starting out in web development, one of the first things you’ll encounter is XHTML — short for eXtensible HyperText Markup Language. It forms the foundation of how content is structured on the web.
Why Learn XHTML?
XHTML is the first essential step in your journey to becoming a web developer. It’s a stricter and cleaner version of HTML, following rules borrowed from XML (Extensible Markup Language). While HTML is more forgiving with errors, XHTML encourages you to write well-formed, valid code — a great habit for beginners to learn early on.
If you understand XHTML, you’re essentially learning HTML too — the syntax is very similar. Don’t worry about which one to focus on right now — they both serve the same purpose at this stage in your learning.
🌐 XHTML vs HTML: What’s the Difference?
Although XHTML and HTML use many of the same tags, XHTML applies stricter rules. Here’s what makes XHTML different:
- All tags must be properly opened and closed.
- Tags must be nested correctly.
- All tag names must be in lowercase.
- Attribute values must be quoted.
This makes XHTML more structured and helps prevent messy or broken code — which is especially important when working with dynamic content or integrating with modern technologies.
🏷️ Working with XHTML Tags
In XHTML, we use tags to structure and present our content. For example:
<h1>Hi, how are you?</h1>This <h1> tag represents the main heading of your web page — and every well-structured page should include at least one <h1> tag. It’s not just about structure; it’s also good for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), helping search engines understand the focus of your content.
Adding Styles with CSS
You can apply styles to XHTML tags using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). For example, you might add a class to a tag like this:
<h1 class="heading">Hi, how are you?</h1>Then, in your CSS file, you would define how the .heading class should look. While we won’t dive deep into CSS just yet, you’ll explore it fully after mastering XHTML basics.
✅ What’s Next?
This is just your introductory lesson. In the upcoming tutorials, we’ll explore common XHTML tags, how to use them correctly, and how they lay the foundation for everything else in web development — including CSS, JavaScript, and more.
💬 Have Questions?
If you have any questions about XHTML or anything covered in this article, feel free to post them in the comments below. I’m here to help you learn step-by-step.
Let’s continue building your web development skills — one tag at a time!
