Difference between <div> and <span> Tag in HTML

In HTML, the <div> and <span> tags are used for structuring and styling content. <div> creates block-level containers for grouping elements, while <span> creates inline containers for styling specific portions of text or elements within a block-level container.

Syntax:

 <div>
    A Computer Science Portal for Beginner 
          <span>w3wiki</span>
</div>

Table of Content

  • HTML div tag
  • HTML span tag

HTML div tag

The div tag is known as the Division tag. The HTML <div> tag is a block-level element used for grouping and structuring content. It provides a container to organize and style sections of a webpage, facilitating layout design and CSS styling.

Div tag has both opening(<div>) and closing (</div>) tags and it is mandatory to close the tag. As we know Div tag is a block-level tag.

Example: In this example we uses <div> tags styled with CSS to create colored, block-level containers. Each div displays text “div tag” with white text on a green background, differentiated by margins and font size.

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>Div tag</title>

    <style>
        div {
            color: white;
            background-color: #009900;
            margin: 2px;
            font-size: 25px;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <div> div tag </div>
    <div> div tag </div>
    <div> div tag </div>
    <div> div tag </div>
</body>

</html>

Output: 

HTML Div Tag Example Output

HTML span tag

The HTML span element is a generic inline container for inline elements and content. It used to group elements for styling purposes (by using the class or id attributes).

A better way to use it when no other semantic element is available. The span tag is very similar to the div tag, but div is a block-level tag and span is an inline tag. 

Example: In this example we demonstrates the <span> tag’s use for inline styling. It highlights “w3wiki” with a light green background, and “Publish” with blue color, emphasizing text within a paragraph.

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>span tag</title>
</head>

<body>
    <h2>Welcome To GFG</h2>

    <p>
        <span style="background-color:lightgreen">
            w3wiki
        </span>
        is A Computer Science Portal where you can
        <span style="color:blue;">
            Publish
        </span> your own
        <span style="background-color:lightblue">
            articles
        </span>
        and share your knowledge with the world!!
    </p>
</body>

</html>

Output: 

HTML span Tag

Differences between <div> and <span> tag:

<div><span>
The <div> tag is a block level element.The <span> tag is an inline element.
It is best to attach it to a section of a web page.It is best to attach a CSS to a small section of a line in a web page.
It accepts align attribute.It does not accept align attribute.
This tag should be used to wrap a section, for highlighting that section.This tag should be used to wrap any specific word that you want to highlight in your webpage.




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