HTML has several tags that visually resemble each other but mean different things. The visual result of <b> and <strong> is identical bold text by default — but only one of them tells a screen reader "this is important."
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| <b> | Bold text with no extra importance — a stylistic offset only |
| <strong> | Text of strong importance — read with emphasis by screen readers |
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| <i> | Italic text with no extra emphasis — a technical term, a ship name, a thought |
| <em> | Emphasized text — changes the meaning of the sentence when read aloud |
H<sub>2</sub>O
E = mc<sup>2</sup><pre> displays text exactly as written in the HTML — spaces, line breaks, and all — usually shown in a monospace font.
<pre>
Line one
Line two, indented
</pre>| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| <del> | Text that has been deleted from a document — shown with strikethrough |
| <ins> | Text that has been inserted into a document — shown underlined |
| <s> | Text that is no longer accurate or relevant, but wasn't part of an edit — a price no longer valid, for example |
<p><del>$50</del> <ins>$35</ins> — sale price!</p>
<p><s>Meeting moved to 3pm</s> — now 4pm</p>