Nearly all HTML elements are either block or inline elements. The characteristics of block elements include:
- Always begin on a new line
- Height, line-height and top and bottom margins can be manipulated
- Width defaults to 100% of their containing element, unless a width is specified
- Ignores the vertical-align property
Inline elements on the other hand have the opposite characteristics:
- Begin on the same line
- Height, line-height and top and bottom margins can’t be changed, but will apply left and right margins, and any padding
- The width is as long as the text/image and can’t be manipulated
