HTML Block and Inline Elements
Every HTML element has a default display value, depending on what type of element it is.
There are two display values: block and inline.
Block-level Elements
A block-level element always starts on a new line.
A block-level element always takes up the full width available (stretches out to the left and right as far as it can).
A block level element has a top and a bottom margin, whereas an inline element does not.
The <div>
element is a block-level element.
Example:
<div>Hello World!</div>
Block level elements in HTML are:
<address>
<article>
<aside>
<blockquote>
<canvas>
<dd>
<div>
<dl>
<dt>
<fieldset>
<figcaption>
<figure>
<footer>
<form>
<h1>
<h2>
<h3>
<h4>
<h5>
<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.
<span>Hello World</span>
Inline elements in HTML are:
<a>
<abbr>
<acronym>
<b>
<bdo>
<big>
<br>
<button>
<cite>
<code>
<dfn>
<em>
<i>
<img>
<input>
<kbd>
<label>
<map>
<object>
<output>
<q>
<samp>
<script>
<select>
<small>
<span>
<strong>
<sub>
<sup>
<textarea>
<time>
<tt>
<var>
An inline element cannot contain a block-level element!
Most used elements
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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<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>
<p>Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Output:
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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>The span element</h1>
<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>
</body>
</html>
Output: