WordPress Basics – Simple HTML Tags for Amateurs or Beginners
I have searched around for a while and just couldn't find a good article that shows the very bare bones HTML tags that amateurs should know when editing static WordPress pages or adding new posts.
I am going to make this as simple as possible. The only tags you really need to know and use are:
<ul>, <ol>, <li>, <h1>, <h2>, <p>, <em>, and <strong>
The Paragraph Tag - <p>
Yes, it is that simple, just wrap paragraphs in these simple little tags. See example:
<p> This is the content that you will type. You just write normally after using the simple paragraph tag. </p>
List Items and Ordered/Unordered Lists - <li>, <ul>, and <ol>
These are a little harder than paragraph tags but still pretty simple. To make a bullet list you will use an unordered list nested with list items. Example:
<ul> <li>This is the first list item.</li> <li>This is the second list item.</li> </ul>
To make an ordered list (numbered!) just use the <ol> instead:
<ol> <li>This is the first list item.</li> <li>This is the second list item.</li> </ol>
Heading Tags - <h1>, <h2>, ... <h6>
The heading tags are used to represent various forms of a heading ranging from 1 most important (biggest and boldest) down to 6 (almost the same as regular text). Please see the examples below:
<h1>This is a big h1 heading</h1>
<h2>This is a medium h2 heading</h2>
The BR and HR Tags - <br /> and <hr />
These tags are a little different. The do not come in pairs, they are just one time shoppers! A <br /> tag simply puts a carriage return or break in your page. The <hr /> tag puts a carriage return and horizontal rule (line) into the page. These examples are a little more involved... because your a master by now!
<p> This paragraph<br /> broken up onto two lines </p>
** Try not to use these tags too much. I almost didn't put them in because they mess people up. 99% of the time you will not need a <br /> tag, just let the words naturally flow to the next line. The <br /> tag is like a brute force line breaker.
<h1>Heading with horizontal rule after it</h1><hr />
Italic and Bold Style Tags - <em> and <strong>
I am ending off with another easy one here because I am sure your brain is fried! The <em> and <strong> tags wrap around words to give them italic and bold, respectively. See the examples below.
<p> This paragraph has <strong>bold text</strong> and <em>italic text</em>. </p>
