HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
27
enhancing Web Page Structure
One of the great movements in recent years is the introduction of different devices capable of
accessing the Web. From desktop to laptop to netbook to tablet to phone to TV — the number of
devices continues to grow every year, all with their own particular size screens and dimensions.
The growth of content on the Web has sparked a secondary revolution where information is
cross-referenced and can appear on multiple pages and sites. A single blog post, for example, can
be picked up and republished in any number of formats, such as a syndicated feed. How can por-
table content be viewed properly under all these different circumstances?
The answer is
semantics
.
Semantics is the study of meaning, particularly as it relates to words and text. When applied to
HTML, semantics essentially means using the right tag for the right content. In other words,
the semantic web is a standardized web where the same content can be given a proper display
regardless of the device or containing context. As you learn in this lesson, a good number of
new tags in HTML5 are devoted to enhancing the underlying structure of a web page.
Though special care must be taken to use these new tags today, they are defi-
nitely the way of the future for web designers working with HTML5 and it's
important you understand their application.
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After you've looked at a number of websites, you begin to see a pattern. Most sites are
designed along similar lines:
There is a header section where the logo and, often, site-wide navigation appears.
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➤
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Below the header is a content area that may be divided into two or more columns, quite
often with one column taking up the most screen real estate.
A footer area along the bottom contains pertinent information about the site, such as
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➤
copyright and contact details.
