HTML Text Formatting
Formatting tags emphasize meaning — strong, em, mark and others change both appearance and semantic weight when used correctly.
Why this matters on Global Tuts
Choosing the right emphasis tag helps assistive technologies and search engines understand what is important on the page.
Common beginner mistakes
- Using b/strong interchangeably without thinking about meaning
- Overusing bold for decoration
- Nesting formatting tags unnecessarily deep
HTML Formatting Elements
Formatting elements were designed to display special types of text:
<b>- Bold text<strong>- Important text<i>- Italic text<em>- Emphasized text<mark>- Marked text<small>- Smaller text<del>- Deleted text<ins>- Inserted text<sub>- Subscript text<sup>- Superscript text
HTML <b> and <strong> Elements
The HTML <b> element defines bold text,
without any extra importance.
The HTML <strong> element defines text
with strong importance. The content inside is typically displayed in bold.
HTML <i> and <em> Elements
The HTML <i> element defines a part of
text in an alternate voice or mood. The content inside is typically displayed in
italic.
Tip: The <i> tag is often used to indicate a technical term,
a phrase from another language, a thought, a ship name, etc.
The HTML <em> element defines
emphasized text. The content inside is typically displayed in italic.
Tip: A screen reader will pronounce the words in <em>
with an emphasis, using verbal stress.
HTML <small> Element
The HTML <small> element defines
smaller text:
HTML <mark> Element
The HTML <mark> element defines text
that should be marked or highlighted:
HTML <del> Element
The HTML <del> element defines text
that has been deleted from a document. Browsers will usually strike a line
through deleted text:
HTML <ins> Element
The HTML <ins> element defines a text
that has been inserted into a document. Browsers will usually underline inserted
text:
HTML <sub> Element
The HTML <sub> element defines
subscript text. Subscript text appears half a character below the normal line,
and is sometimes rendered in a smaller font. Subscript text can be used for
chemical formulas, like H2O:
HTML <sup> Element
The HTML <sup> element defines
superscript text. Superscript text appears half a character above the normal
line, and is sometimes rendered in a smaller font. Superscript text can be used
for footnotes, like WWW[1]: