Text Formatting

B is used to indicate that the enclosed text must be rendered in a bold typeface. It must be rendered distinct from I-italics text.

If you want to indicate strong emphasis, use the STRONG element instead. B should only be used when you want bold typeface for some other reason than to denote strong emphasis. While the two tags usually produce the same output, the B tag does not provide any reasons why the enclosed text is in boldface. This means an indexer or text-only browser cannot pick a good alternative. With STRONG this is possible.

I is used to indicate that the enclosed text must be rendered in a italic (slanted) typeface. It must be rendered distinct from B-bold text.

You should use EM or CITE instead of I if you can. While they usually produce the same output, the I tag does not provide any reasons why the enclosed text is in italics. This means an indexer or text-only browser cannot pick a good alternative. With EM and CITE this is possible. The browser can now distinguish between emphasized text and citations and choose different methods to display them.

The TT tag specifies that the enclosed text should be rendered in a teletype (monospaced) font. This can be used to simulate typewriter output. If possible, use CODE, SAMP or KBD instead. These tags allow the browser to pick a suitable rendering for each specific case, instead of the generic rendering you get with TT. It also makes the job easier for convertors and search robots.

The SMALL tag (as well as BIG) is new. A browser should draw the enclosed text in a smaller font if available, and ignore the tag otherwise. Since this tag is new, support for it is not universal. The FONT tag can do the same, with SIZE="-1".

Example - Text Formatting

This is a heading

Text can also be formatted in the following ways

Bold

Italic

Emphasis

Strong

Small

Typewriter text

If required they may be combined

Bold and Italic

Typewriter Text and Small

The HTML

<html>

<head>
	<title>Text Formatting</title>
</head>

<body>

<h1>This is a heading</h1>
		
Text can also be formatted in the following ways
		
<p><b>Bold</b>
		
<p><i>Italic</i>
		
<p><em>Emphasis</em>
		
<p><strong>Strong</strong>
		
<p><small>Small</small>
		
<p><tt>Typewriter text</tt>
		
<p>If required they may be combined
		
<p><b><i>Bold and Italic</i></b>
		
<p><tt><small>Typewriter Text and Small</small></tt>

</body>
	
</html>

Previous page...

Christopher Ward London Limited