Learning HTML is your first stepping stone towards becoming a web developer and designer. Along with HTML come two more languages – CSS and JS, which are essential to creating interactive web pages. The entire web UI is based on these three languages, and if you master them, you are sure to fetch a dream job, dream salary, and dream project!
HTML is easy to learn, and you can do so with some good HTML tutorials and courses. HTML5 has some cool new features that make coding web pages easier than ever before.
What Is an HTML Certification?
While there are tons of HTML courses and tutorials out there, not all of them offer you a certification to present to employers.
An HTML certification offers a physical confirmation of your ability to work with HTML. One of the three main markup languages, HTML is the most basic that every beginner web developer should learn first, before moving onto CSS, and JavaScript.
HTML dictates how a website’s structure and look. Without HTML, a website’s design elements like videos and images won’t function properly.
With an HTML certification, you can make your resume look more appealing to employers in the web development and computer science field. Moreover, studies show that those with certifications earn about 25% more than those who aren’t certified.
The good news? You can get an HTML certification online, without even leaving your home!
But which is the best HTML certification? Should we consider an HTML CSS certificate too? And where can you get an HTML certification free of charge? We’ll get into that shortly.
What’s the Difference Between HTML and HTML5?
Before we get into our list, we should outline that some of these certifications are for HTML while others are for HTML5.
HTML5 is a more advanced version of HTML.
Here are some of the things HTML5 covers that regular HTML doesn’t:
- Supports audio and video
- Mobile-friendly
- Uses SQL databases and application cache instead of cookies (HTML) to store data
- Allows JavaScript to run concurrently (HTML doesn’t)
- Permits drag and drop effects
- Allows creation of shapes like circles and rectangles
Keep these differences in mind when you browse the certifications. If you’re well versed with HTML5, you might want to showcase that with an HTML5 certification.
Best HTML Certifications
Here are some of the best HTML certifications out there, including HTML5 certification and HTML and CSS certifications as well.
1. Exam 70-480 by Microsoft
Exam Details
Test Structure: Multiple-choice questions and practical tests
Prerequisites: 1-year of development experience with HTML, JavaScript and basic programming knowledge
Type: Basic
Languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese
Price: USD 127
Prerequisites: 100 hours of experience, familiarity with HTML and CSS
Mode: Online
Exam Contents
- HTML basics
- CSS basics
- HTML structure
- HTML multimedia
- CSS Styling
Who Should Take It: People with a basic understanding of HTML and CSS that wish to work at a company certified as a Microsoft Gold Partner
Pros: Exam only, quick duration for experienced web developers, practice tests available
Cons: Learning path with instruction costs money
2. HTML5 Certification From CanCanIT
CanCanIT offers an HTML5 certification for experienced web developers with a strong mastery of HTML5. This is a great option for businesses and companies, as CanCanIT offers group certifications for 3+ people. Some items covered in the exam include:
Exam Details
Test type: 2-part test; Q&A theory test, practical task; several questions: 20 single and multiple-choice questions.
Duration: 30 minutes for theory test (1.5 minutes per question), 120 minutes for practical.
Prerequisite: None
Retake: After 24 hours, unlimited retakes
Cost: USD 120; additional USD 30 for printed certificate
Exam Contents
- Basics, structure, and tags
- Elements and element attributes, Document Object Model (DOM)
- Forms and input types
- Audio and video
- HTML canvas and web storage
Who Should Take It: Experienced web developers with a mastery of HTML5.
Pros: Unlimited retakes and ability to retake the exam after 24 hours at no extra cost
Cons: None
3. FreeCodeCamp Responsive Web Design Certification
This certification course from freecodecamp.org is free and self-paced. It combines HTML5 and CSS, offering an impressive HTML and CSS Certification upon completion.
The Responsive Web Design certification is unique in its inclusion of an accessibility section, which is increasingly important to ensure your services reach all audiences. You can learn at home, build projects, and then earn certification.
Exam Details
Duration: 300 hours
Cost: Free
Language: English
Type: Self-learning
Prerequisites: none
Retake: Free, unlimited
Exam Contents
- Basic HTML and HTML5: headings, syntax, paragraphs, adding links and images, form elements, form attributes, submit, head and body, doctype
- Basic CSS: CSS selectors, sizing images, colors, setting fonts, adding borders, circles, margins and other elements, inline styles, custom CSS variables, browser fallbacks
- Accessibility: alternative text, easy navigation, screen reader considerations, coding for colorblindness
- Applied visual design: more about CSS properties, text-align, box-shadow, bold, italic, underline properties, font properties, float elements, z-index, colors and gradient, CSS transforms, animations, and effects
- Responsive web design principles: media query, responsive images, typography, high-resolution displays
- CSS Flexbox: – flex powers, flex-direction, justify-content, align-self, flex-grow, flex-shrink, align-items
- CSS Grid: grid-template-rows, grid-template-columns, justify-items, flexible layouts, grid within a grid
- Responsive web design projects: 5 projects to get the best out of the certification course, including building a product landing page, survey form, portfolio web page, and more
Who Should Take It: Beginners that want to learn about HTML, HTML5 and CSS through online courses and receive an HTML certification at the end.
Pros: Extensive course content, education + certification, HTML + CSS
Cons: Big time commitment, not a good option for already experienced web developers
4. Udemy - Certification Course for Beginners
With a 4.4 rating, UDemy’s beginner HTML course is a celebrated option for beginners. At the end of this course, you will get a certification that you can add to your resume. Students will learn the basics of HTML Development and fundamentals of CSS, and apply their course knowledge at the end of the program with a hands-on project.
Exam Details
Duration: 4 hrs
Cost: USD 19.99
Language: English
Type: Guided courses with instructor and videos, certification offered at the end
Structure: 4 hours of on-demand videos, 70 HTML lectures, and 31 CSS lectures, two downloadable resources, full lifetime access to the course
Prerequisites: None
Type: Self-paced
Exam Contents
- HTML Basics: structure, head, body, spacing, text formatting, lists, links and anchors
- Absolute vs. Relative File Referencing
- CSS Basics: borders, transparency, backgrounds, styling, text properties, positioning, color names and rules, classes and spans
Who Should Take It: People with a background in HTML and CSS that would like a quick refresher before achieving certification, and people who would like to build mobile responsive web pages.
Pros: Short time commitment with certification and quick recap of HTML and CSS
Cons: Some reviewers noted the instructor rushed through the content
5. CP450 – HTML 5.0 (NCSA)
This certification provided by NCSA (National Computer Science Academy) has many advantages and is widely recognized with high ratings. The NCSA offers training courses for beginners to take in preparation for this exam. However, if you’re already experienced, you can take this free certification without having to take any courses or tutorials.
Exam Details
Duration: Unclear, assumed a couple of hours
Cost: Free
Language: English
Structure: 3 categories of multiple-choice questions
Level: Intermediate
Cost: Free
Prerequisites: 6 months of programming experience in HTML
Type: Multiple-choice questions
Exam Contents
- HTML5 structures (40%)
- Advanced concepts (30%)
- Code comprehension (30%)
Who Should Take It: Intermediate web developers
Pros: Training courses available for beginners, short time commitment for web developers with a bit of experience to achieve certification
Cons: None
6. edX: Front End Web Developer Professional Certificate Program
This course from edX offers comprehensive coverage of front-end web development, including HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Comprising 5 courses, the program offers an HTML and CSS certificate that helps you gather the basics of web development.
Exam Details
Duration: 4-6 weeks
Effort: For each course, 6-10 hours per week
Number of courses: 5
Language: English
Cost: USD 895.50 for all the courses
Prerequisite: Beginner to Intermediate
Type: Self-paced
Exam Contents
5 courses covering:
- HTML5 and CSS Fundamentals: basics, how to build a website
- HTML5 Coding Essentials: animations, audio and video tags, geolocation, HTML5 features
- HTML5 Apps and Games: advanced multimedia features, Web Audio and Track API, games techniques, and data storage
- JavaScript: introduction, debugging, CSS styles
Who Should Take It: Beginners that would like to learn coding fundamentals with an edge up from the intro to JavaScript.
Pros: Highly rated, comprehensive courses
Cons: Expensive
7. LinkedIn: Introduction to Web Design and Development
This introductory course from LinkedIn covers the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It’s a particularly good option for people that are active in LinkedIn, as recruiters and connections can easily see your badge of completion on the platform.
Exam Details
Language: English
Level: Beginner
Type: Self-paced, downloadable
Structure: 5 chapter quizzes, 1 project file, instructional videos
Prerequisite: None
Cost: USD 44.99
Retake: Unclear
Exam Contents
- Introduction: exploring HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, web design overview,
- Working with HTML: CMS (Content Management System), choosing a web host, registering domains, the structure of websites
- Tools: Code and graphics editor, testing tools, framework, and JS libraries
- Accessibility: Standards and accessibility, multi-device world, web design workflow, HTML, CSS, and JS
Who Should Take It: People active on LinkedIn
Pros: Highly rated, low cost for course and certification
Cons: Less hands-on than other courses
8. Coursera: Web Design for Everybody
Taught by instructors from the University of Michigan, this Coursera specialization offers 5 courses above certification is a specialization from Coursera, which includes five courses that cover HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and advanced styling.
Exam Details
Language: English
Level: Basic to advanced
Structure: Hands-on project after completing 5 courses
Duration: 6 months for the specialization
Cost: Free for audit, monthly account fee for certificate
Exam Contents
- JavaScript: making web pages interactive
- CSS3: basics
- DOM: to modify web pages
- Responsive Design: allowing web pages to be viewed on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices
Who Should Take It: People who learn at a slower pace and aren’t in a rush; beginners
Pros: Highly rated, extensive coverage
Cons: Long time-commitment, 6 months
9. Coursera - HTML, CSS, and JS for Web Developers
John Hopkins University, ranked #9 in the list of best US universities, offers this free HTML certification course on Coursera. Taught by Yaakov Chaikin, this course covers the basic tools you need to create and adjust a web page on computers and mobile devices. It is a basic certification course from Coursera, through which you will learn the essential tools for coding web pages. It is a self-paced course, and upon completion, you will earn a certification that you can share in your online profile or resume.
Exam Details
Duration: 7-11 hours per week, 24 hours total
Language: English, Korean
Cost: Coursera has monthly plans, not course wise
Prerequisites: None
Level: Basic
Exam Contents
- Introduction to HTML5: setting up the environment, document structure, tags
- Introduction to CSS3: properties, box model, float, background, grids, bootstrap
- Project: create a static website
- Introduction to JavaScript: constructs, objects, arrays, functions, scope isolation, closure, building web applications
Who Should Take It: Beginners who want to learn the basics of web development.
Pros: Highly rated, extensive coverage
Cons: 1-month commitment
Conclusion
With a certification in hand, you can surely get an edge over other candidates for anything – be it a promotion, job change, or a challenging project in another team. As you must have noticed, most of these HTML certifications are HTML5 certifications and include CSS as well. If you haven’t started learning the basics of HTML yet, try any or all of these cool HTML projects, designed for all levels.
Looking to build your own website? We recommend checking out NameCheap's current deals for all your web hosting and domain name needs.
People are also reading:
- Best HTML Course
- Top HTML Interview Questions
- HTML Cheat Sheet
- Difference between HTML, HTML5 and XHTML
- Top Angular Alternatives
- Difference between CSS, CSS2, and CSS3
- Best Angular IDE
- Top Angular Interview Questions and Answers
- Download Bootstrap Cheat Sheet
- Top Bootstrap Interview Questions and Answers
