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.
<small>: the side comment element
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Attributes
This element only includes the global attributes.
Examples
Basic usage
html
<p>
This is the first sentence.
<small>This whole sentence is in small letters.</small>
</p>
Result
CSS alternative
html
<p>
This is the first sentence.
<span style="font-size:0.8em">This whole sentence is in small letters.</span>
</p>
Result
Notes
Although the <small> element, like the <b> and <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 | HTMLElement |
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| HTML Standard # the-small-element |
Browser compatibility
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari | WebView Android | Chrome Android | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | Safari on IOS | Samsung Internet | |
small |
1 | 12 | 1 | Yes | 15 | ≤4 | 4.4 | 18 | 4 | 14 | ≤3.2 | 1.0 |
See also
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https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/small