How to Copy & Paste HTML Onto My Website
By Cam Merritt
Most novice webmasters have puzzled over how to use HTML to format text a certain way, arrange content into columns or build tables. When you come across a site that does exactly what you want to do, your Web browser gives you a look inside the HTML source code. You can copy and paste the code as a starting point for creating equivalent effects on your own pages.
Step 1
Load the Web page whose source code you want to copy into a window in your Web browser. View the page source to reveal the raw HTML. Most browsers place the command for this option in the View menu, or in a contextual menu that appears when you right-click on a Web page.
Step 2
Find the lines of HTML you want to copy. Press "Ctrl-A" to select the entire document, or click and drag through it with your pointing device to select part of the code. Press "Ctrl-C" to copy the selection to the clipboard.
Step 3
Open the file into which you want to paste the HTML in an appropriate editing application. Use a plain-text editor such as Notepad in Windows or TextEdit on a Mac. A browser displays the file as a Web page instead of showing you the HTML.
Step 4
Find the spot in your file at which you want to paste the HTML you copied earlier. Press "Ctrl-V" to paste in the code.
Step 5
Save your HTML file. Leave it open in the plain-text editor if you plan to make more changes.
Step 6
Open the HTML file in a Web browser and examine how the pasted-in HTML renders. To make further adjustments to the code, return to the plain-text file, make the changes and save the file. Refresh the page in your browser.
Step 7
Launcb FTP software or use the control panel in your hosting account to access the files for your website. Upload the edited page.
References
Tips
- Some Web hosting systems provide built-in editing capabilities within the control panel system so you can alter HTML files you upload to your website after you upload them.
- When you edit Web pages, do the work on your own computer and upload the completed files to your Web host, overwriting old files if necessary. This keeps a partially edited Web page from showing up when visitors load your site.
Warnings
- Reusing blocks of HTML from another website may constitute a copyright violation, especially if the code makes your site mimic the look and feel of the original site. Use pasted code only as a guide or starting point for creating your own work.
Writer Bio
Cam Merritt is a writer and editor specializing in business, personal finance and home design. He has contributed to USA Today, The Des Moines Register and Better Homes and Gardens"publications. Merritt has a journalism degree from Drake University and is pursuing an MBA from the University of Iowa.