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Alex Watts
8,396 PointsWhy index?
Hello,
I was wondering why my first HTML document has to be called 'index.html'. Is there any history or meaning behind this.
Thanks.
3 Answers
Alex Watts
8,396 PointsThanks Paul,
I started a project with 'home.html' and my browser did not like it.
Paul Yabsley
46,713 PointsIf you have a file called home.html and you open it in a browser, then that should work. If you go to a directory address in your browser without specifying a document then it will look for index.html.
Alex Watts
8,396 PointsI am using Brackets.io to preview my webpage live, as if it were on a server.
Paul Yabsley
46,713 PointsPaul Yabsley
46,713 PointsIt doesn't necessarily but many web servers will look for an index.html file and display that by default. It is worth noting server software can also display different files by default including different file types such as .php. There is usually a setting to tell a server to use a different file. All that depends on the type of server.
I'm not sure about the history behind the name index but my understanding is that in the early days of the web the index was the 'home' page as it 'indexed' or listed the other linked pages/documents.