<span>: The Content Span element
BaselineWidely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.
The<span>
HTML element is a generic inline container for phrasing content, which does not inherently represent anything. It can be used to group elements for styling purposes (using theclass
orid
attributes), or because they share attribute values, such aslang
. It should be used only when no other semantic element is appropriate.<span>
is very much like a<div>
element, but<div>
is ablock-level element whereas a<span>
is aninline-level element.
Try it
<p> Add the <span>basil</span>, <span>pine nuts</span> and <span>garlic</span> to a blender and blend into a paste.</p><p> Gradually add the <span>olive oil</span> while running the blender slowly.</p>
span.ingredient { color: #f00;}
Attributes
This element only includes theglobal attributes.
Example
Example 1
HTML
html
<p><span>Some text</span></p>
Result
Example 2
HTML
html
<li> <span> <a href="portfolio.html">See my portfolio</a> </span></li>
CSS
css
li span { background: gold;}
Result
Technical summary
Content categories | Flow content,phrasing content. |
---|---|
Permitted content | Phrasing content. |
Tag omission | None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory. |
Permitted parents | Any element that acceptsphrasing content, or any element that acceptsflow content. |
Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | Any |
DOM interface | HTMLSpanElement |
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML # the-span-element |
Browser compatibility
See also
- HTML
<div>
element