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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.

note

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>
note

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:

Div Example

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:

Span Example

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