HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the standard language for creating web pages. It provides the structure and content of a webpage by using a series of elements, each with its own meaning and attributes. These elements are interpreted by web browsers to display text, images, and other multimedia content.

What it is:

HTML is a markup language, not a programming language. It uses tags and elements to structure the content of a webpage, telling the browser how to display the information.

How it works:

HTML documents are text files that contain the structure and content of a webpage. These files are typically saved with an .html or .htm extension.  

Beyond structure:

While HTML provides the structure, other technologies like CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are used to control the visual presentation (appearance and layout) and JavaScript is used for interactivity and functionality.