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Every HTML element has a default display value, depending on what type of element it is.
The two most common display values are block and inline.
Block-level Elements
A block-level element always starts on a new line, and the browsers automatically add some space (a margin) before and after the element.
A block-level element always takes up the full width available (stretches out to the left and right as far as it can).
Two commonly used block elements are: <p> and <div>.
The <p> element defines a paragraph in an HTML document.
The <div> element defines a division or a section in an HTML document.
The <p> element is a block-level element.
The <div> element is a block-level element.
Example
<p>Hello World</p>
<div>Hello World</div>
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Here are the block-level elements in HTML:
<address>
<article>
<aside>
<blockquote>
<canvas>
<dd>
<div>
<dl>
<dt>
<fieldset>
<figcaption>
<figure>
<footer>
<form>
<h1>-<h6>
<header>
<hr>
<li>
<main>
<nav>
<noscript>
<ol>
<p>
<pre>
<section>
<table>
<tfoot>
<ul>
<video>
Inline Elements
An inline element does not start on a new line.
An inline element only takes up as much width as necessary.
This is a <span> element inside a paragraph.
Example
<span>Hello World</span>
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Here are the inline elements in HTML:
<a>
<abbr>
<acronym>
<b>
<bdo>
<big>
<br>
<button>
<cite>
<code>
<dfn>
<em>
<i>
<input>
<kbd>
<label>
<map>
<object>
<output>
<q>
<samp>
<script>
<select>
<small>
<span>
<strong>
<sub>
<sup>
<textarea>
<time>
<tt>
<var>
Note: An inline element cannot contain a block-level element!
The <div> Element
The <div> element is often used as a container for other HTML elements.
The <div> element has no required attributes, but style, class and id are common.
When used together with CSS, the <div> element can be used to style blocks of content:
Example
<div style="background-color:black;color:white;padding:20px;">
<h2>London</h2>
<p>London is the capital city of England. It is the most populous city in the United Kingdom, with a metropolitan area of over 13 million inhabitants.</p>
</div>
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You will learn more about the <div> element in the next chapter.
The <span> Element
The <span> element is an inline container used to mark up a part of a text, or a part of a document.
The <span> element has no required attributes, but style, class and id are common.
When used together with CSS, the <span> element can be used to style parts of the text:
Example
<p>My mother has <span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;">blue</span> eyes and my father has <span style="color:darkolivegreen;font-weight:bold;">dark green</span> eyes.</p>
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Chapter Summary
- A block-level element always starts on a new line and takes up the full width available
- An inline element does not start on a new line and it only takes up as much width as necessary
- The
<div>element is a block-level and is often used as a container for other HTML elements - The
<span>element is an inline container used to mark up a part of a text, or a part of a document
HTML Exercises
HTML Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <div> | Defines a section in a document (block-level) |
| <span> | Defines a section in a document (inline) |
For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.
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