Difference between span and div tag in HTML.

Table of contents

In HTML, both the div and span tags are used as container elements to group and format content on a web page, but they have different use cases and behave differently.

The div tag is used to group and format larger sections of content on a page, such as paragraphs, images, headings, and other elements. The div tag is a block-level element, which means that it takes up the full width of its container and starts on a new line. You can apply CSS styles to a div element to change its appearance and behaviour.

The span tag, on the other hand, is used to group and format smaller sections of content within a larger block of content, such as individual words, phrases, or even characters. The span tag is an inline-level element, which means that it only takes up as much width as necessary and does not start on a new line. You can also apply CSS styles to a span element to change its appearance and behaviour.

<div class="article">
  <h1>Article Title</h1>
  <p>This is the first paragraph of the article. It contains some text and <span class="highlight">a highlighted phrase</span>.</p>
  <p>This is the second paragraph of the article.</p>
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="An image related to the article">
</div>

In this example, the div element is used to group the entire article, while the span element highlights a specific phrase within a paragraph.

Span TagDiv Tag
Span is an inline-level element in HTML.Div is a block-level element in HTML.
The main purpose of the span tag is to apply styles to a specific portion of the text.The main purpose of the div tag is to group large sections of HTML elements and apply styles to them.
Span tags do not create a line break before or after the element.Div tags create a line break before and after the element.
Span tags are used to apply styles, such as color or font size, to small portions of text, such as a single word or phrase.Div tags are used to group together a set of HTML elements and apply styles to them, such as setting a background color or defining a layout.
Span tags are often used in conjunction with CSS to create more precise styling.Div tags are often used to create a layout structure for a webpage.
Span tags can be nested within other HTML elements.Div tags can be nested within other HTML elements.
The use of span tags does not affect the layout of the page.The use of div tags can affect the layout of the page, as they create a block-level element that takes up space on the page.
1
Subscribe to my newsletter

Read articles from Surya Prakash Singh directly inside your inbox. Subscribe to the newsletter, and don't miss out.

Written by

Surya Prakash Singh
Surya Prakash Singh

A full stack developer from India. Html | Css | Javascript | React | Redux | Tailwind | Node | Express | Mongodb | Sql | Nosql | Socket.io