HTML is the founding language and overall source for most websites on the net today. Marketing your art, business or trade on the internet without knowing a little HTML is like living in Paris without knowing how to speak a little French; although you may be able to get by, it will be by bare means.

Most major interactive websites available today (Craigslist, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube) rely heavily on the use of users with the ability to apply HTML to their content. HTML tags/code added to content makes the content contain more rich qualities and uniqueness. It can help draw a persons eye to the "message" of your content and help emphasize or de-emphasize important claims and statements - "SALE"   "no refunds"   "Call For Appointment"

Not to mention, it just looks better and reads easier, making the visitors experience at your page or ad more refreshing and increases the liklihood they may purchase your works or services.

As an example, if you typed this sentence into the Art Fortune description box for your studio/gallery/classified ad:

I want to sell art. Visit my website. Thanks for looking.

It would appear the same on your studio/gallery/classified ad.

But, what if I wanted to make the word 'art' in that sentence red, or bold or something different? Well, you need to add some HTML code.

Enter code:

<strong> I want to sell art.</strong> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Visit my website.</span> <span style="color:red;"> Thanks for looking. </span>

Appears:

I want to sell art. Visit my website. Thanks for looking.

HTML code can be very basic or very complicated depending on how you approach it. I will attempt to walk you through everything that just happened above.

STEP 1 In the description box of your My Account for a studio/gallery/ or classified ad, type whatever you would like to appear. In my example, I chose the statement "I want to sell art. Visit my website. Thanks for looking."

Step 2 Using HTML tags/code; modify your text to appear the way you would like to see it live on your studio/gallery/classified ad. For example, I wanted the first sentence ("I want to sell art") to appear bold. So, I started an HTML tag before the sentence; <strong>. The <strong> HTML tag tells the system that I want to begin my bold at this point in my sentence.

Step 3 Stopping your HTML code. Now that the bold HTML tag has been added, I need to tell the system where I want my code to end, so I use the </strong> tag to end my HTML code. If I did not use the </strong> to end the bold appearance, the entire sentence would become bold.

** So now you're starting to get the hang of it, right? Starting an HTML code...ending my html code...make stuff appear bold, blue, red, large. Why are some codes pretty easy to remember and use (ie. <strong>) and some are more complicated looking (ie. <span style="font-size: 14pt";> ) ? Well, it's best to just take these codes at face value. Nobody expects you to know the origin of each code and the reason why it is formulated the way it is, just use it for your benefit. I dont know what the formula to Coca-Cola is, but I like the way it tastes and I drink it quite often. After awhile I stop thinking about what's in a coke and how it's made; I just drink it. :)

*** How do I learn more codes? See below -   What Are Examples Of HTML Code? 

The most common question and HTML tag requested... How Do I create a link to my website from my studio/gallery/ or classified ad?

It's no different than making your text bold or blue or italics or large. It just needs a little HTML. Lets assume your websites address (or URL) was http://www.johnsfantasticart.com. We will need to combine your unique websites address into the HTML code in order to make this work, so lets begin...

Enter text:

Visit my Website

Add code:

<a target=_blank href="">Visit my Website</a>

Add Website Address to code (between the "quotes"):

<a target=_blank href="http://www.johnsfantasticart.com">Visit my Website</a>

Appears:

Visit my Website (not a real website)

Assuming you have the hang of HTML codes and how to start them and end them, below is a list of HTML tags that are typically the most common ways to improve a web page(s) appearance. Still got questions? contact support@artfortune.com

Begin Tag	End Tag	Function	Full Example	Appears
<strong>	</strong>	BOLD	<strong>Text</strong>	Text
<em>	</em>	ITALIC	<em>Text</em>	Text
<a target=_blank href="http://www.domain.com">	</a>	LINK	<a target=_blank href="http://www.domain.com">Text</a>	Text
<center>	</center>	CENTER ALIGN	<center>Text</center>	Text
<span style="font-color: red">  <span style="font-color: blue">  <span style="font-color: green">	</span>	COLOR	<span style="font-color: red">Text</span> <span style="font-color: blue">Text</span> <span style="font-color: green">Text</span>	Text Text Text
<span style="font-size: 12pt">	</span>	FONT SIZE	<span style="font-size: 12pt">Text</span>	Text
<li>	</li>	LIST ITEM	<li>Text</li> <li>Text</li> <li>Text</li>	Text Text Text
<u>	</u>	UNDERLINE	<u>Text</u>	Text
<br>	</br>	PAGE BREAK	<br>Text Text Text</br> <br>Text Text Text</br> <br>Text Text Text</br>	Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
<strike>	</strike>	STRIKE THRU	<strike>Text</strike>	Test
<a href="mailto:john@domain.com">	</a>	EMAIL LINK	<a href="mailto:john@domain.com">Email Text</a>	Email Text