HTML Block and Inline Elements
Every HTML element has a default display value, depending on what type of element it is.
The two display values are: block and inline.
Block-level Elements
A block-level element always starts on a new line and takes up the full width available (stretches out to the left and right as far as it can).
Block level elements in HTML:
Inline Elements
An inline element does not start on a new line and only takes up as much width as necessary.
This is an inline <span> element inside a paragraph.
Inline elements in HTML:
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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The <span> Element
The <span> element is
often used as a container for some text.
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:
HTML Grouping 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.
