Explaining the HTML5 `` vs `` elements.
Jul 12, 2025 am 03:09 AM, <span> is not suitable for layout; 5. Priority is given to the use of semantic tags to improve structural clarity and accessibility.
Many people are a little confused about the two tags <div> and <code><span></span>
when they first learn HTML. They don't look special, and they seem to be able to use any one of them. In fact, they are not the case, there are obvious differences in structure and purpose. ` vs `
<div> is a block-level element<p> <code><div> is a block-level element by default, which means it will occupy a single line regardless of whether there is content or not. If you set the width, height, inner and outer margins and other styles for it, it will take effect normally.<p> Common usage scenarios: </p>
<img src="/static/imghw/default1.png" data-src="https://img.php.cn/upload/article/000/000/000/175226098477717.jpeg" class="lazy" alt="Explaining the HTML5 `<article>` vs `<section>` elements."> ` vs `<section> ` elements." /><ul>
<li> As a container for page layout</li>
<li> Wrap a set of related elements to facilitate unified control of styles or behaviors</li>
<li> Responsive design with CSS Grid or Flexbox</li>
</ul>
<p> For example, you write a piece of code like this:</p><pre class='brush:php;toolbar:false;'> <div class="box">This is a div</div>
<p>This is a paragraph of text</p></pre><p> This <code>div
will start with a new line and fill the width it can occupy.

<span>
is an inline element
<span>
, on the contrary, it is an inline element. It will not wrap the line, nor will it automatically occupy a whole line, its size depends entirely on the content itself.
Common usage scenarios:
- Add styles to a part of the text, such as highlighting a word
- Dynamically operate a certain text, such as changing the color or content with JavaScript
- Add extra styles or attributes without interrupting text stream
For example:
<p>This is a normal sentence, but the word <em><span style="max-width:90%">is red</span></em>. </p>
Here we use <span>
to change the color of only one word in the sentence without affecting the structure of the entire paragraph.
How to choose: or <span>
? Simply put, it depends on whether the content you want to package needs to be "individually blocked":
- If it is related to layout and requires independent space, use
- If it is just a small part of the text, use
<span>
Other points should be noted:
-
<div> cannot be placed in the <code><p></p>
tag (HTML specification does not allow it) -
<span>
is not suitable for structural layout, otherwise it may disrupt text flow
- Today, with more semantic tags, try to give priority to using more meaningful tags (such as
<section></section>
, <article></article>
, <header></header>
, etc.) instead of blindly applying or <span>
Basically that's it. Although both tags are very basic, using the wrong place may affect layout, accessibility and even SEO. Only by understanding their behavioral differences can we write a clearer and more reasonable HTML structure.
<span>
?Simply put, it depends on whether the content you want to package needs to be "individually blocked":
- If it is related to layout and requires independent space, use
- If it is just a small part of the text, use
<span>
Other points should be noted:
-
<div> cannot be placed in the <code><p></p>
tag (HTML specification does not allow it) -
<span>
is not suitable for structural layout, otherwise it may disrupt text flow - Today, with more semantic tags, try to give priority to using more meaningful tags (such as
<section></section>
,<article></article>
,<header></header>
, etc.) instead of blindly applyingor<span>
Basically that's it. Although both tags are very basic, using the wrong place may affect layout, accessibility and even SEO. Only by understanding their behavioral differences can we write a clearer and more reasonable HTML structure.
- If it is just a small part of the text, use
The above is the detailed content of Explaining the HTML5 `` vs `` elements.. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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