HTML5 Page Structure – Beginners Guide for Web Developers

HTML5 Page Structure – Beginners Guide for Web Developers – 006

HTML5 Page Structure – Coding a Blogsite.

This tutorial is connected from the previous HTML5 tutorial, the “HTML5 Boilerplate“.

In this tutorial, we are going to use the downloaded HTML5 Boilerplate and we are going to do basic page structure code of a blog.

First off, remove the “Hello world! This is HTML5 Boilerplate” in the body section of the index.html file.

Then, we are going to add a header tag with nav tag in the body section of our index.html file.

[html5]
&lt;header&gt;
&lt;h1&gt;Our HTML5 Site&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;nav&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="#"&gt;Nav Item #1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/nav&gt;
&lt;/header&gt;
[/html5]

Next, we are going to use the main tag. Main tag specifies the main content of your HTML5 website.

In the main tag, we are going to use the article tag. Article tag is the perfect element in creating a blogsite. It represents the component of a page, self-contained composition of your document.

It is really made for a blog post or a chunk of post.

[html5]
&lt;main&gt;
&lt;article&gt;
&lt;header&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Blog Post Title&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Posted on: &lt;time datetime="2017-05-30"&gt;&lt;/time&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Time Meta Data&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/header&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This is your article 1 blog post. You can add any paragraphs in here or any some sort of a diary that reflects your blog post title. I think you are learning to create a blogsite now!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;footer&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Meta Data&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/footer&gt;
&lt;/article&gt;
&lt;/main&gt;
[/html5]

As you can see we have used the header and the footer tag. As we have mentioned from our semantic elements post, header and footer tag are not only for the main section but it can also be used in any paragraph document in your html5 file.

There you have it, you have created your own blogsite. You can add also add another article by just adding new article tag at the end of your first article tag.

On our next tutorial, we will be discussing about HTML5 Time Element. Stay tuned webbies!

For questions or any other concerns or thesis/capstone creation with documentation, you can contact me through the following:

E-Mail: [email protected]

Facebook: facebook.com/kirk.lavapiez

Contact No.: +639771069640

Ian Hero L. Lavapiez

BSIT Graduate, soon to be MIT.

System Analyst and Developer

Technology stack and requirements

To run this PHP project, you need these tools on your development machine:

XAMPP or WAMP server. Bundles Apache, MySQL, and PHP so you can run PHP on Windows without individual installs. Free from apachefriends.org.
PHP 8.0 or higher. Included with XAMPP. Older versions (5.x, 7.x) may work but modern PHP features improve security and performance.
MySQL or MariaDB. Comes with XAMPP. phpMyAdmin manages the database through a browser UI.
VS Code or PhpStorm. Free code editor with PHP syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and debugging support.
Web browser. Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for testing the running app.

Installing the source code

Download the archive. Get the ZIP file from the download link on this page and extract it.
Move to htdocs. Place the extracted folder inside C:\xampp\htdocs\ so Apache can serve it.
Import the database. Open http://localhost/phpmyadmin, click Import, and select the .sql file included in the archive.
Update database credentials. Open the config.php or connection.php file and set the correct database name, username, and password (default XAMPP: root / empty password).
Run the project. Start Apache + MySQL in XAMPP, then visit http://localhost/your-project-folder/ in a browser.

Using this project for your BSIT capstone

This PHP project maps cleanly to standard BSIT capstone documentation. Suggested chapter alignment:

Chapter 1 (Introduction). Discuss the problem the system solves in real-world context. Cite Philippine business or academic use cases where a manual process could be replaced.
Chapter 2 (Review of Related Literature). Compare this system’s features against 5-10 similar published projects. Cite journals like IJERT or IEEE Access for academic-standard sources.
Chapter 3 (Methodology). Include Use Case Diagram, Data Flow Diagram, Entity Relationship Diagram, and Activity Diagram covering all major workflows.
Chapter 4 (Results and Discussion). Screenshot each module of the running system with a caption explaining what data it processes and which user role interacts with it.
Chapter 5 (Conclusion and Recommendations). Identify features that could be added in a Version 2, such as mobile app, REST API export, or AI-powered analytics.

Modules typical of HTML5 Page Structure – Beginners Guide for Web Developers – 006

Master data. CRUD forms for the primary entities with search and filter.
Transaction processing. Data entry forms for day-to-day operations the system automates.
Reports. Formatted printable output summarizing activity per day, user, or category.
User management. Login with role-based permissions (Admin, Encoder, Viewer).
Backup and restore. Export database to a .sql file and restore when needed.

Common enhancements for capstone review

Modernize the UI. Add Bootstrap 5 or Tailwind CSS for a polished appearance.
Add printable receipts. Use TCPDF or FPDF to generate PDF reports.
Multi-user concurrency. Ensure database handles simultaneous writes without lost-update errors.
Rewrite in Laravel. Migrate to Laravel for maintainability and modern development patterns.

Official documentation

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this PHP project work?

Built with vanilla PHP (no framework) and MySQL backend. Standard structure: form HTML, PHP script handlers, MySQL via PDO or mysqli, sessions for auth, Bootstrap for responsive layout. Ready to extend for BSIT capstone scope.

What PHP and MySQL versions does this project require?

Most projects in this batch run on PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.2 with MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10+. A few older projects need PHP 5.6 (deprecated, use XAMPP 7.x). To run: install XAMPP / WAMP / Laragon, extract project to htdocs, import the included .sql file via phpMyAdmin, edit the connection file (usually config.php or db_connect.php) with your DB credentials, browse to the project URL in your browser.

How do I set up the database for this PHP project?

Open phpMyAdmin (http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ on XAMPP), create a new empty database with the name specified in the project’s config.php. Click the Import tab, choose the included .sql file, click Go. Then edit config.php (or includes/connection.php) with: ‘localhost’, your MySQL username (usually ‘root’), your MySQL password (usually blank for XAMPP), and the database name.

Can I use this PHP project for a BSIT capstone or thesis?

Yes, but extend it. A bare CRUD app is too narrow for full capstone scope. Add: user roles via session checks, reports/dashboards (Chart.js + AJAX), PDF exports (TCPDF library), email notifications (PHPMailer), real domain extension (analytics, audit log, multi-branch support). Pair with Chapter 1-5 documentation matching your panel’s rubric.

Why am I getting ‘connection error’ or ‘undefined function mysqli_connect’?

Three common PHP issues: (1) Connection error: Apache + MySQL services not running in XAMPP control panel, OR database name in config.php does not match what you created in phpMyAdmin. (2) ‘undefined function mysqli_connect’: MySQL extension not enabled, in php.ini uncomment extension=mysqli (then restart Apache). (3) ‘No such file or directory’: MySQL socket path wrong, use 127.0.0.1 instead of localhost in the connection string.

Where can I find more PHP projects with source code?

Browse the PHP Projects hub for the full library (300+ vanilla PHP systems). For modern PHP MVC alternatives see Laravel Projects (74 systems) or CodeIgniter Projects (32 systems). For BSIT-focused capstone idea lists see 150 Best Capstone Project Ideas.

HTML5 Page Structure – Beginners Guide for Web Developers – 006