The HTML <p>
element represents a paragraph. Paragraphs are usually represented in visual media as blocks of text separated from adjacent blocks by blank lines and/or first-line indentation, but HTML paragraphs can be any structural grouping of related content, such as images or form fields.
Paragraphs are block-level elements, and notably will automatically close if another block-level element is parsed before the closing </p>
tag. See “Tag omission” below.
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Content categories | Flow content, palpable content. |
Permitted content | Phrasing content. |
Tag omission | The start tag is required. The end tag may be omitted if the <p> element is immediately followed by an <address> , <article> , <aside> , <blockquote> , <div> , <dl> , <fieldset> , <footer> , <form> , <h1> , <h2> , <h3> , <h4> , <h5> , <h6> , <header> , <hr> , <menu> , <nav> , <ol> , <pre> , <section> , <table> , <ul> or another <p> element, or if there is no more content in the parent element and the parent element is not an <a> element.
|
Permitted parents | Any element that accepts flow content. |
Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | Any |
DOM interface | HTMLParagraphElement
|
Attributes
This element only includes the global attributes.
Note: The align
attribute on <p>
tags is obsolete and shouldn't be used.
Example
HTML
<p>This is the first paragraph of text.
This is the first paragraph of text.
This is the first paragraph of text.
This is the first paragraph of text.</p>
<p>This is the second paragraph.
This is the second paragraph.
This is the second paragraph.
This is the second paragraph.</p>
Result
Styling paragraphs
By default, browsers separate paragraphs with a single blank line. Alternate separation methods, such as first-line indentation, can be achieved with CSS:
HTML
<p>Separating paragraphs with blank lines is easiest
for readers to scan, but they can also be separated
by indenting their first lines. This is often used
to take up less space, such as to save paper in print.</p>
<p>Writing that is intended to be edited, such as school
papers and rough drafts, uses both blank lines and
indentation for separation. In finished works, combining
both is considered redundant and amateurish.</p>
<p>In very old writing, paragraphs were separated with a
special character: ¶, the <i>pilcrow</i>. Nowadays, this
is considered claustrophobic and hard to read.</p>
<p>How hard to read? See for yourself:
<button data-toggle-text="Oh no! Switch back!">Use pilcrow for paragraphs</button>
</p>
CSS
p {
margin: 0;
text-indent: 3ch;
}
p.pilcrow {
text-indent: 0;
display: inline;
}
p.pilcrow + p.pilcrow::before {
content: " ¶ ";
}
JavaScript
document.querySelector('button').addEventListener('click', function (event) {
document.querySelectorAll('p').forEach(function (paragraph) {
paragraph.classList.toggle('pilcrow');
});
var newButtonText = event.target.dataset.toggleText;
var oldText = event.target.innerText;
event.target.innerText = newButtonText;
event.target.dataset.toggleText = oldText;
});
Result
Accessibility concerns
Breaking up content into paragraphs helps make a page more accessible. Screen-readers and other assistive technology provide shortcuts to let their users skip to the next or previous paragraph, letting them skim content like how white space lets visual users skip around.
Using empty <p>
elements to add space between paragraphs is problematic for people who navigate with screen-reading technology. Screen readers may announce the paragraph's presence, but not any content contained within it — because there is none. This can confuse and frustrate the person using the screen reader.
If extra space is desired, use CSS properties like margin
to create the effect:
p {
margin-bottom: 2em; // increase white space after a paragraph
}
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<p>' in that specification. | Living Standard | No change since the latest W3C snapshot HTML5 |
HTML5The definition of '<p>' in that specification. | Recommendation | align attribute is obsolete
|
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<p>' in that specification. | Recommendation | Initial definition |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Update compatibility data on GitHub
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
p
|
Chrome
Full support Yes |
Edge
Full support 12 |
Firefox
Full support 1 |
IE
Full support Yes |
Opera
Full support Yes |
Safari
Full support Yes |
WebView Android
Full support Yes |
Chrome Android
Full support Yes |
Firefox Android
Full support 4 |
Opera Android
Full support Yes |
Safari iOS
Full support Yes |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
See also
<p>: The Paragraph element by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.