Source code

Every website is built in HTML, and that HTML is what we call the page's source code. It contains the instructions a browser follows to build the page. By running that source code, the browser can show your page on the screen.

What is in a website's source code?

The source code of a website holds the instructions for the browser, which turns that code into a layout. Google reads the source code of a page to work out which keywords it should rank for. The source code contains, for example: the page title and description, social media tags, references to images, CSS and JavaScript files, links to other pages, and the full content of the page.

Viewing the source code of your page

Anyone can view the source code of a website. It has to be that way, because your browser needs access to it as well. Right-click on the page and choose 'View page source'. You now see the source code of the page.

What the source code tells you

A good SEO expert always starts by looking at a site's source code. It is part of the technical side of a website, and small fixes there can sometimes have a surprisingly large effect in Google.
If you manage a website, being able to read source code is useful. You will quickly spot the mistakes that can cause problems in Google.