HTML Paragraphs
HTML Paragraphs
The HTML <p> element defines a paragraph:
Note: Browsers automatically add some white space (a margin) before and after a paragraph.
HTML Display
You cannot be sure how HTML will be displayed.
Large or small screens, and resized windows will create different results.
With HTML, you cannot change the output by adding extra spaces or extra lines in your HTML code.
The browser will remove any extra spaces and extra lines when the page is displayed:
Example
<p>
This paragraph
contains a lot of lines
in the source code,
but
the browser
ignores it.
</p>
<p>
This paragraph
contains
a lot of spaces
in the source
code,
but the browser
ignores
it.
</p>
Try it Yourself »
Don't Forget the End Tag
Most browsers will display HTML correctly even if you forget the end tag:
The example above will work in most browsers, but do not rely on it.
Note: Dropping the end tag can produce unexpected results or errors.
HTML Line Breaks
The HTML <br> element defines a line break.
Use <br> if you want a line break (a new line) without starting a new paragraph:
The <br> tag is an empty tag, which means that it has no end tag.
The Poem Problem
This poem will display on a single line:
Example
<p>
My Bonnie lies over
the ocean.
My Bonnie lies over the sea.
My Bonnie
lies over the ocean.
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
</p>
Try it Yourself »
The HTML <pre> Element
The HTML <pre> element defines preformatted text.
The text inside a <pre> element is displayed in a fixed-width font (usually
Courier), and it preserves both spaces and line breaks:
Example
<pre>
My Bonnie lies over the ocean.
My Bonnie lies over the sea.
My Bonnie lies over the
ocean.
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
</pre>
Try it Yourself »
HTML Exercises
HTML Tag Reference
W3Schools' tag reference contains additional information about HTML elements and their attributes.
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <p> | Defines a paragraph |
| <br> | Inserts a single line break |
| <pre> | Defines pre-formatted text |
For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.
