HTML Text Formatting
Master the art of semantic text formatting and typography for better readability and accessibility
Proper text formatting enhances user experience, improves accessibility, and helps search engines understand your content structure.
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Basic Text Formatting Tags
Semantic Text Emphasis
<strong>Strong
Important text with semantic meaning
This is <strong>important</strong> textThis is important text
Visual equivalent: This is **important** text
Screen readers emphasize content
<em>Emphasis
Emphasized text with semantic meaning
This is <em>emphasized</em> textThis is emphasized text
Visual equivalent: This is *emphasized* text
Screen readers stress content
<mark>Mark
Highlighted text for reference
This is <mark>highlighted</mark> textThis is highlighted text
Visual equivalent: This is ==highlighted== text
Search results, important notes
<small>Small
Side comments and fine print
Regular text <small>small text</small>Regular text small text
Visual equivalent: Regular text āāāāā āāāā
Copyright, legal text, disclaimers
Additional Formatting Elements
<ins>Inserted Text
Newly added content
Newly added text
<del>Deleted Text
Removed content
<sub>Subscript
Chemical formulas, footnotes
H2O - Water molecule
<sup>Superscript
Mathematical exponents, footnotes
E = mc2 - Energy formula
Best Practices
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Use semantic tags for better accessibilityā
Maintain proper heading hierarchyā
Ensure sufficient color contrastā
Use relative units for font sizesā
Limit line length to 50-75 charactersā
Choose readable font familiesā
Provide adequate line heightā
Test with screen readersAccessibility Tips
ā Screen readers announce semantic tags
ā Proper heading structure aids navigation
ā Color alone shouldn't convey meaning
ā Ensure text resizes properly
ā Provide text alternatives for images
ā Maintain keyboard navigation
ā Test with high contrast modes
ā Use ARIA labels when needed
Common Mistakes
ā Using <b> instead of <strong>
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Use semantic tags
ā Skipping heading levels
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Maintain hierarchy
ā Too small font sizes
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Minimum 16px for body
ā Poor color contrast
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Test contrast ratios
ā Using <br> for spacing
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Use CSS margins
ā Nested <div> for text
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Use semantic elements
Readability Statistics
16px
Recommended minimum body text
1.5
Ideal line height ratio
50-75
Optimal characters per line