How to Improve Your HTML Game

Published on Feb 5, 2026, filed under development, html. (Share this post, e.g. on Mastodon or on Bluesky.)

Regular readers, you’ll know what I recommend here. Thanks for swinging by!

If you want to improve the manner in which you write HTML, there are three things to do:

1. Decide on Your HTML Writing Style

There are 6 ways of writing HTML, with 19 combinations. Many start off with the unsystematic way of writing HTML.

To improve your game, you benefit from making a conscious decision: Do you want to keep it unsystematic (though perhaps consistent)—or do you opt for the valid, semantic, accessible, and/or required-only way?

2. Validate Your Output

Anyone can write HTML. Few can write it well. Writing HTML well starts with it being error-free. The way to test this is by means of a validator. The most reliable and common tool is the W3C validator. However, there are alternatives in the Node ecosystem.

To improve your writing of HTML, you have to check your HTML output on conformance—you need to confirm it’s actual HTML. For that reason, validate.

3. Read the Spec (aka Make the HTML Pilgrimage)

To get good at HTML, you need to understand what HTML is. That understanding is obtained through the official standard—it’s closest to the source because it is the source, and with that, the information in the standard is the most current and most reliable.

To level up in HTML, you need to read the HTML specification. It’s akin to a pilgrimage, if you will, in terms of effort needed, but it will enlighten you, in your game as a frontend developer.

_ Alongside these three steps, there’s practicing. For that, one great trick is to run your own website. It’s all work, but for a professional, it makes all the difference.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you use every day (like Google) and companies you’ve never heard of, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and perspectives. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)