Software :: See Local HTML Files On Browser?

I'm new to a Mac and although I love the mac, I'm having a few issues that I simply can't figure out. trying to create a website locally that eventually I'll FTP to a live site. On the Mac I am using Safari and Firefox. When I bring up the .html file all I see is the code in those browsers. That same code on my pc brings up the website in Safari, Firefox or IE so it's not the code. I'm seeing things about a local server but don't know if that applies to me or not. In the address bar of the browser it says file:///Users/myusername/Documents/Website/TestSite.html where myusername is my actual User Name. I've also now checked web sharing and followed the directions on viewing webpages you put in your Sites folder (which is where I have overwritten the index.html file that came with the Mac) and now that doesn't work either. I'm getting a little frustrated. I'm sure this is a low level question, but I've never used a mac before so this is all new to me.