HTML and CSS Reference
Additional Text Elements
The HTML5 specification contains additional tags that give text different semantic mean-
ings. These tags have either been inherited and redefined from previous HTML revisions or
are brand new for this latest iteration. Here are some of the more commonly used tags:
<em> is used to stress emphasis. The emphasis is linguistic; if spoken it would
emphasize pronunciation on a word, which would change the nuance of the sen-
tence. By default the browser renders the <em> element as italic text.
<strong> is used to show strong importance for its content as defined by the
user. By default the browser renders the <strong> element as bold text.
<small> is used for side comments such as small print, a copyright statement, a
disclaimer and similar items.
<mark> is a new HTML5 element used to indicate text that we are specifically
trying to highlight without changing its importance or emphasis. The mark ele-
ment represents a run of text in one document marked or highlighted for refer-
ence purposes due to its relevance in another context.
<sub> defines subscript text. Subscript text is mostly used in math and chem-
istry formulas. It will appear bellow the normal line and will often be rendered
in a smaller font.
<sup> defines superscript text. Superscript text is mostly used in footnotes or
math. It will appear half a character above the normal line and will often be
rendered in a smaller font.
<abbr> defines an abbreviation. This element is usually extended with the title
attribute to show the full version of the abbreviation/acronym when we mouse
the cursor over the marked content.