html block/inline elements

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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:

<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>
<nonscript>	<ol>	<p>	<pre>
<section>	<table>	<tfoot>	<ul>
<video>

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>

Try it Yourself

Here are the inline elements in HTML:

<a>	<abbr>	<acronym>	<b>
<bdo>	<big>	<br>	<button>
<cite>	<code>	<dfn>	<em>
<i>	<img>	<input>-<h6>	<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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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: drakolivegreen; font-weight: bold;">dark green </span>eyes.</p>

Try it Yourself

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

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