What is the purpose of HTML in web development?

The purpose of HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, in web development is fundamentally to provide the structure and content layout of a web page. HTML serves as the backbone of any website, allowing developers to define various elements such as headings, paragraphs, links, images, and other types of content. By using HTML tags, developers can organize content in a way that browsers can understand and display correctly, ensuring a coherent presentation of text and images to users.

In a broader context, while CSS is used for styling and JavaScript for interactivity and animations, HTML remains essential for establishing the foundational layout that both the visual and interactive components build upon. This structural aspect is crucial because it allows browsers to render content in a meaningful way, which is vital for both usability and accessibility. Therefore, understanding HTML is the first step in web development, as it establishes the framework upon which everything else is built.