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<small>: the side comment element

The <small> HTML element represents side-comments and small print, like copyright and legal text, independent of its styled presentation. By default, it renders text within it one font-size smaller, such as from small to x-small.

{{EmbedInteractiveExample("pages/tabbed/small.html", "tabbed-shorter")}}

Attributes​

This element only includes the global attributes.

Examples​

Basic usage​

<p>
  This is the first sentence.
  <small>This whole sentence is in small letters.</small>
</p>

Result​

{{EmbedLiveSample("Basic_usage")}}

CSS alternative​

<p>
  This is the first sentence.
  <span style="font-size:0.8em">This whole sentence is in small letters.</span>
</p>

Result​

{{EmbedLiveSample("CSS_alternative")}}

Notes​

Although the <small> element, like the {{htmlelement("b")}} and {{htmlelement("i")}} elements, may be perceived to violate the principle of separation between structure and presentation, all three are valid in HTML. Authors are encouraged to use their best judgement when determining whether to use <small> or CSS.

Technical summary​

Content categories Flow content, phrasing content.
Permitted content Phrasing content
Tag omission None; must have both a start tag and an end tag.
Permitted parents Any element that accepts phrasing content, or any element that accepts flow content.
Implicit ARIA role 
generic
Permitted ARIA roles Any
DOM interface {{domxref("HTMLElement")}}

Specifications​

Browser compatibility​

See also​

  • {{HTMLElement("b")}}
  • {{HTMLElement("sub")}} and {{HTMLElement("sup")}}
  • {{HTMLElement("font")}}
  • {{HTMLElement("style")}}
  • HTML 4.01 Specification: Font Styles