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HTML Block and Inline Elements
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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, 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
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<p>Hello
World</p> CSS
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<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> <img> <input>
<kbd> <label> <map> <object> <output>
<q> <samp> <script> <select> <small>
<span> <strong> <sub> <sup> <textarea>
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Note: An inline element cannot contain a block-level element!
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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 an inline container used to mark up a part of a text, or a part
of a document.
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The <span> element has no required attributes, but style , class and id are
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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
There are two display values: block and inline
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 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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