How Long Does it Take to Learn HTML & CSS?

Like many aspiringWeb Developers, you might want to learn HTML & CSS but worry that it will take too much time. While HTML & CSS are relatively simple programming languages, they can still be somewhat complex for new users. The essential elements of HTML & CSS, such as how to use HTML tags to tell a program to distinguish between an image and text, can be picked up in only a few days. However, students will practice and study for many weeks or even months to fully master these languages' more complex and elaborate elements. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading about how you can learn HTML & CSS and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is HTML & CSS?

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are the two primary programming languages upon which all modern web infrastructure is built. These two programming languages tell your computer how to display a web page and distinguish one web element from another. HTML uses a system of tags and breaks to communicate to web browsers how a given web page should be displayed for users. It is what tells the web page you are looking at right now what the difference between a header and a paragraph is so that the web page knows when to separate the two blocks of text. CSS informs the web browser how it should display some aspects of content, assigning fonts, sizes, colors, and other visual data to web page elements. It tells the web page to display these words in a specific font, size, and color. Together, these two languages help build simple web pages composed of text, images, and hyperlinks.

Since their adoption in the mid-90s, HTML & CSS have become the most commonly used programming languages for web development, as virtually all web pages run on a skeleton built using these two languages. While the output of HTML & CSS is rather unimpressive by modern standards since it only deals with the production of visual elements, text, images, and links. However, modern web pages would be impossible to design for all their complexity without HTML & CSS. This means that anyone aspiring to work in web development must learn how to code in HTML & CSS before they can begin to learn more complex languages. 

Read more about what HTML & CSS is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with HTML & CSS?

Using HTML & CSS, you can design rudimentary web pages and begin the process of learning how to create dynamic and evocative web pages. While most modern web page design programs like WordPress allow novice users to construct more elaborate web pages than with HTML & CSS training alone, learning how to work with HTML & CSS prepares students for complex coding processes using programming languages such as JavaScript, React, or Python.

Learning HTML & CSS is also an essential first step in learning how to code web pages professionally. As more and more businesses, companies, organizations, and groups seek to establish an online presence, skilled Web Developers are in high demand. While any professional Web Developer will also need additional training, learning the fundamentals of front end web development will ensure that students have the foundation to build into a profitable future career.

Average Time it Takes to Learn HTML & CSS

On average, mastering HTML & CSS will take students a few months to master, assuming they regularly practice or receive instruction. While the basic elements of the language are easy to learn (there are only a few basic tags commonly used on all web pages), students will need to slowly build their understanding of using the most complex and rare elements. There are approximately 150 HTML tags and over 500 CSS properties. Learning all of them will take time.

Other Factors

A few outside factors can speed up one’s HTML & CSS training. Students with prior coding experience will have an easier time, and those with experience learning and studying languages may find their training less daunting. Additionally, students who hope to learn more complex coding skills will need more complex HTML & CSS skills, meaning their training will take longer.

Coding Experience

While HTML & CSS are among the most popular languages to learn for first-time programmers, this isn’t always the case. Any student with prior coding experience likely has discovered a more complex language than HTML & CSS, giving them a leg up. Plus, they will likely be able to bypass the early difficulties of learning general coding skills.

Languages, Grammar, and Syntax

One of the reasons that programming languages are called languages is because they have their vocabularies, grammar, and syntaxes. Students will learn how to construct valid statements that a program can interpret, akin to how to build complete sentences and statements when learning a new language. If you have experience with foreign language learning or find that learning new languages is easier, then learning a programming language may also be quicker.

Future Coding Aspirations

Few students stop their programming education once they have learned HTML & CSS. While these languages are necessary for modern web development, numerous other languages can build more complex digital, interactive assets. What a student hopes to do with their programming training will determine how long they will spend learning HTML & CSS. Students who want to learn how to develop web pages using JavaScript or React will need extensive HTML & CSS training. By contrast, students who wish to learn Python and SQL for data science may be able to move on from their HTML & CSS training more quickly.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

HTML & CSS are among the simplest coding languages to learn, but they are still coding languages, which means that users will need to learn complicated syntaxes and learn how to read and debug code that does not compile correctly. This can be difficult for novice coders, but it is a necessary first skill to learn for anyone aspiring to build web pages.

There are no formal prerequisites to learning HTML & CSS, as these languages are the prerequisite to learning almost everything else about front end coding. Students should be comfortable using computers and expect the process of coding a web page. Still, beyond this, students won’t need prior knowledge to learn HTML & CSS.

HTML & CSS are open-source programming languages that are free to use. Novice coders will also need to acquire an HTML & CSS editing application to construct a web page. There are many different tools, such as Notepad++, Adobe Dreamweaver, UltraEdit, and Bluefish. The price of these programs will vary, but many are either completely free or have extended free versions. The actual process of launching and maintaining web pages will come with a regular service fee.

Read about how difficult it is to learn HTML & CSS.

Watch a Free HTML & CSS Online Course

Looking for an overview of HTML & CSS without investing in a professional training course? Start learning HTML & CSS for free online. In these free introductory courses, you will learn the basics of tagging elements in HTML to allow web browsers to distinguish between elements of a web page and how to use CSS to alter the size, font, or color of text and other visual elements.

Noble Desktop offers a few online course options on its website and its official YouTube page. Users can visit their Web Design and Development playlist to find videos introducing students to the essential elements of front end web development using HTML & CSS and associated programming languages. Noble also provides a free Intro to Front End Web Development course on their free seminars page. Similar to other free tutorials, this class will teach students both the basics of coding generally alongside introductory lessons on using HTML & CSS.

Numerous other free HTML & CSS training courses are available through service providers like Coursera and UDemy. Since HTML & CSS is so ingrained in web development, free resources for helping ease new programmers into coding are plentiful.

Read about more free HTML & CSS videos and online tutorials.

Learn HTML & CSS with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to learn HTML & CSS can find several specialized training courses through Noble Desktop. These courses, available both in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus and through live online instruction, will provide students with in-depth training in HTML & CSS and many programming languages built off of HTML & CSS. Regardless of the course they enroll in, students will benefit from being able to work directly with Noble’s experienced instructors. Even online, class sizes remain small to ensure that students aren’t competing for their instructor’s attention. As a bonus, all of Noble’s courses have an option to retake the class for free within a year of enrolling, giving students extra opportunities to get hands-on HTML & CSS instruction and experience.

Noble offers an introduction to web development bootcamp through their Web Development with HTML & CSS and Advanced HTML & CSS courses. These courses are designed to give students a taste of front end web development by teaching them the essential practices of coding web pages using HTML & CSS. These courses are ideal for students with no coding experience who are interested in learning the fundamental processes of learning the syntax of a programming language and translating that knowledge into the construction of a practical project. Students will learn the basic principles of using HTML tags to differentiate between elements of a web page and how to use CSS tags to apply fonts and styles to text. In the more advanced courses, students will learn how to build multi-page websites that link to one another.

Most students with aspirations of learning web development aren’t going to be content learning how to design web pages that look like they were last updated in 1997. These students may wish to enroll in Noble’s Front End Web Development Certificate program. This course will teach students the vital HTML & CSS skills they need to know to build web pages. After mastering those skills, students will learn how to use programs and languages built on top of HTML & CSS to design more complex, interactive web pages. This course will teach students how to use JavaScript, one of the most popular front end programming languages, to add interactive elements and seamless animations to their web designs. Students will also receive training on how to utilize and build WordPress templates. Nearly 40% of all modern web pages use WordPress in some capacity, so learning these skills is an ideal way to start down the path of a career in web development.

Students interested in learning more about the HTML & CSS classes and bootcamps available should consult the web development section of Noble’s website (which they can easily view and navigate thanks to developers with HTML & CSS training).

Key Insights

• While HTML & CSS are among the simpler programming languages to learn, much training is still required to master these skills. Students will need a few weeks of training to become comfortable with HTML & CSS and a few months of training to become proficient.
• Having prior coding experience will greatly benefit new HTML & CSS students, mainly because they will be more comfortable with the act of writing code.
• Similarly, having prior experience learning language skills may make it easier to pick up the grammar and syntax of a programming language.
• Since very few coding students only learn HTML & CSS, it is useful to consider what you want to do afterward to judge how long you’ll need to spend mastering HTML & CSS. Some fields of computer science, like front end web development, will require more training than fields like data science.
• Another way to speed up the training process is by enrolling in a training course, such as the in-person and live online HTML & CSS classes offered by Noble Desktop.