HTML (Short for HyperText Markup Language) is the language used to create web pages. A web page may contain text, graphics, audio or even video. A web page may link to other web pages or files by using hyperlinks. One big benefit of a HTML is that the language is understood by any computer with a browser, and Internet connectivity irrespective of the Operating System used.

No. It is not necessary to know HTML to design a simple web site. You can use GUI (Graphical User Interface) editors such as FrontPage, Netscape composer, or Mozilla to create a web page. Though one need not know HTML to design a web page, knowledge of HTML is desirable to optimize the web page. By knowing HTML, you can fine tune the web page so that the users will have better experienc e.

Not necessarily. Scripts are used to execute special code either on the browser or on the web server. A script such as JavaScript or VBScript that runs on the browser is called client side script. A script such as CGI or PHP that runs on the server side is called server side script. For example, if you want a feed-back form to be incorporated into a web page, you may need to resort to scripts. Basically, scripts introduce functionality into a web page. Some examples where scripts are used: Discussion forums, web page counters, feed-back forms etc. If you are considering any interactivity with the web page visitor, you may need to consider using a script.

The advantage of client side scripting is that the server is relieved of executing the script, thus saving valuable processor time and RAM. On the other hand, there is less protection to the script on the client side. Script on the server can be protected using passwords, whereas the script on the client side is open to anyone. Server side scripting is recommended if you need a tight control on the program code, better functionality, and security.

CGI, PERL, ASP, and PHP are examples of server side scripts. JavaScript, and VBScript are the examples of client side scripts. Note that scripts are interpreted languages, and differ from programming languages such a Java or C++. The later are compiled before being executed.

Yes, it is recommended to optimize your web site with respect to various browsers, and also to check for any syntax errors. A few resources that checking a web site compatibility and syntax are ZDNet HTML Check , W3C HTML checker.