Web design refers to designing websites for display on the internet and focuses on the user experience. There are two common methods for designing websites that work on desktop and mobile: responsive design uses one layout that adjusts elements based on screen size, while adaptive design uses fixed layouts optimized for common screen sizes. HTML is the standard markup language used to define web page structure and elements like headings, paragraphs, links, and images. CSS can be used to style HTML elements by controlling properties like font, size, color, and alignment.