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HTML HTML Text Emphasis, Strong, and Horizontal Rules

Gemma Barrows
Gemma Barrows
3,171 Points
Posted by Gemma Barrows
Gemma Barrows
3,171 Points

Difference between <strong> and <b> and <em> and <i>?

Hi everyone, I've used <b> and <i> tags in my HTML before and I don't really understand how they differ from the tags introduced in this video.

Is my HTML still valid if I continue to use <b> and <i>, or is it best practice to switch to <strong> and <em>?

Thanks!

2 Answers

John Burkhard
John Burkhard
16,314 Points
John Burkhard
John Burkhard
16,314 Points

<strong> and <em> add extra semantic meaning to your document as well as increasing accessibility for people with visual impairment and using screen readers. Using <b> or <i> within a document is specifically for styling purposes, while using <em> indicates emphasis and <strong> indicates stronger emphasis.

Gemma Barrows
Gemma Barrows
3,171 Points
Gemma Barrows
Gemma Barrows
3,171 Points

Ahh, that makes sense! Thanks for the quick reply!

Jeremy Castanza
Jeremy Castanza
12,081 Points
Jeremy Castanza
Jeremy Castanza
12,081 Points

For a more technical explanation, here's the W3C specification. They give some specific examples of when these tags have issues. http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-b-and-i-tags