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, vs ,

Written byPhuoc Nguyen

Category

HTML

Created

19 Jun, 2020

Last updated

20 Aug, 2020

Contributors

The `b` and `strong` tags by default make text bold. The `i` and `em` tags by default make text italicized.

Each browser has its own default styles, but result in similar appearances. Here is how they are styled in the popular browsers:

Chrome:

strong,
b {
    font-weight: bold;
}
i,
cite,
em,
var,
address,
dfn {
    font-style: italic;
}

Firefox:

b,
strong {
    font-weight: bolder;
}

i,
cite,
em,
var,
dfn {
    font-style: italic;
}

Safari:

strong,
b {
    font-weight: bold;
}
i,
cite,
em,
var,
address,
dfn {
    font-style: italic;
}

Despite the fact that their appearances are similar, the `strong` and `em` tags add extra semantic meaning to the enclosed text, whereas `b` and `i` are purely visual.

According to the HTML 5 specifications, the `strong` and `em` tags indicate importance and emphasis respectively.

As far as accessibility goes, while a particular screen reading software may or may not pronounce it differently, using `` or `` at least opens the possibility, whereas a screen reader will never pronounce text within `` or `` differently.

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Phước Nguyễn

<b>, <i> vs <strong>, <em>

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