HTML and CSS use a box model, which means that page elements include margins, padding, background colors and, optionally, decorative borders. Open your HTML Web page in a text editor such as Notepad.

If you’ve learned CSS from the ground up, you should have a good understanding of the box model. But if you’re unfamiliar ...

To make a colored box in Dreamweaver CS5, create an HTML division tag, then create and apply a CSS style to set its size and color. Launch Dreamweaver. Click "HTML" in the "Create New" section.