The Internet has been around since the 1950s. Originally, the Internet was
used to transfer messages and files from one user to another around the world.
The World Wide Web is one part of the Internet, though it is the only part
many ever see. The Web has also been around for a long time (in computer
terms- the early '90s) and is based on this transfer of text and files.
Behind every Web page is a set of words, files, and directions on how to display
these words and files to the viewer.
The early web users used a text browser but with the advent of faster computers and networks, it became possible to transfer these files and have the result appear so that the "end user" could see the words and pictures on a page, rather than looking at words and then opening the picture files that were referred to in the text The user could use a mouse to point and click on links to other pages. However, keep in mind that when you see a Web page, you are still just looking at a "presentation" of these files and words. Behind the scenes your browser puts the text on a page, does some minimal formatting, and inserts pictures where directed.
As you develop web pages, you will find that you must work within these historical limitations. You will find you really have little choice of font, font size, spacing, and page layout. There are ways around these limitations that we will discuss as we proceed.