Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard for creating web pages and web applications. Because it’s used on practically every website imaginable, the need for skilled HTML programmers is high.
Once you’re familiar with the basics of HTML, you can apply that knowledge across a variety of platforms, whether it be in the tech space, marketing, web design, or for your own personal blog. HTML is also a great foundation for learning more advanced programming languages such as Java, MySQL, and Python, further increasing its versatility and importance.
Landing a job using this language can be challenging, however, which is why we put together this list of the top ten HTML interview questions.
Table of Contents:
- Tell me about yourself.
- What is your most significant accomplishment?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Why do you want to work here?
- Why should we hire you?
- Briefly describe the correct usage of the following HTML5 semantic elements: header, article, section, footer
- Do you know any other languages that make you a better website developer?
- What were some of the key goals and motivations for the HTML5 specification?
- What are some of the key new features in HTML5?
- Give a simple implementation of the video tag to embed a video stored at http://www.samplequestion.com/awesome_video.mp4. Give the user a dimension of 1280 pixels by 720 pixels. Provide the user with controls.
1. Tell me about yourself.
“Tell me about yourself” will almost always be included as one of the first questions interviewers ask. With this statement, they’re not only trying to learn some relevant information about you, but also get a feel for your personality and communication style. Your answer should be highly relevant to the prospective job, and yet concise at the same time.
A good answer could be:
“I graduated five years ago with a degree in computer science and have since worked as a front-end engineer. I have a lot of experience with HTML, along with CSS and JavaScript. I find these languages complement each other and help me keep the main newsfeed looking fresh and sharp. I also take professional development courses regularly, and I’m a consistent contributor to online code repositories.”
2. What is your most significant accomplishment?
Interviewers use this behavioral interview question to give them insights into how you perform, your work patterns, and how you present your general abilities. While it may seem awkward to talk about yourself in this way, this is your chance to use the STAR method and brag about some of the big things you’ve done:
“I’d have to say that one of my biggest accomplishments was completely recreating the layout and design of a large company’s homepage through some contractor work. I refreshed their old design and made it minimalist, focusing on the brand and what they were trying to say to customers. As a result, engagement skyrocketed, and they saw a huge increase in orders. I enjoyed that I was able to combine engineering and art to make a difference.”
3. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Here, your prospective employer wants to understand how you view this potential position: Is it just a stepping stone in your career? Or do you envision yourself staying somewhere and really contributing to their mission?
You might answer like this:
“I love working with HTML and know that I’d like to continue improving these skills while finding creative ways to apply them. In five years, I can see myself being a trainer or manager, helping others navigate the world of front-end languages and finding ways to further impact clients and companies.”
4. Why do you want to work here?
This question is important to hiring managers for a variety of reasons. It not only helps them figure out what your motivations are for working at the company, but it also tells them how you and your career goals would fit into the company culture. Make sure you do plenty of research about the organization and role beforehand to be prepared.
Here’s an example response:
“To be completely honest, ’s reputation is certainly a huge factor. I’d be honored to work at such a prominent company, and would be proud to continue the work ethic and standards that were set before me. Also, I have multiple friends who work for the company, and I know that the fast-paced work environment is what I’m looking for. I want to be able to make a difference with my skills, and this position would help me achieve that goal.”
5. Why should we hire you?
This is your chance to sell yourself to the employer and get them to see why you’re the perfect person for the job. You’ll want to make sure your answer helps differentiate you from your competition. Be specific, but concise in your strengths, qualifications, and experience:
“I’d be a good fit for this position as I have the three-plus years of experience you’re looking for, as well as a degree in computer science. I’ve worked as a contractor, which displays my drive and motivation, and I’ve worked in a large-scale engineering environment. I’m highly adaptable and bring my passion and enthusiasm for developing my career with me every day. I’m a great contributor and would be an asset to the front-end team.”
6. Briefly describe the correct usage of the following HTML5 semantic elements:
Understanding the main functions of HTML is a key indicator of how deeply you understand and have experience with the language. While there are many pieces to HTML, these semantic elements are the basics and should be very easy for any experienced developer to explain:
- “The <header> element contains the introductory section of a page. It can also include the section heading, the author’s name, table of contents, or any other important navigational content.”
- “The <article> element is used to house a piece of work that can be reused outside of the page without losing its intended meaning. News stories or blog posts are good examples of this.”
- “The <section> tag is a versatile container meant for holding information that shares a common theme or purpose.”
- “The <footer> element is designed to hold content that should appear at the bottom of a section or at the end of a page. This information might include the author’s name, related links, or copyright notices.”
As you interview for an HTML position, you will likely be given different questions that gauge your skills and actually have you display your programming knowledge. While this sample question is just one example, it’s a good idea to practice many scenarios so you are prepared for whatever situation might be thrown your way. One sample implementation for this question is:
<video src=”http://www.samplequestion.com/awesome_video.mp4″ width=”1280″ height=”720″ controls></video>
While these top HTML interview questions only begin to scratch the surface, they’ll give you a great head start in preparing for your interview. By thoroughly researching the position, the prospective organization, and practicing questions such as those listed above, you’ll be ready to land your dream job.
