What is the difference between a div and a span element?

Both <div> and <span> elements are used in HTML for grouping and applying styles to sections of content. However, there is a fundamental difference between their purpose and usage.

<div> (short for "division") is a block-level element, which means that it creates a new block formatting context and takes up the full width of its parent container. It is typically used to group larger sections of content, such as headers, footers, and main sections of a webpage.

<span> (short for "span of text"), on the other hand, is an inline element, which means that it only takes up as much width as its content requires and does not create a new block formatting context. It is typically used to group smaller sections of text within a block-level element, such as a specific word or phrase.

So, when you want to group some content and apply styling to it and don't want the element to create a new line or block-level formatting context, you should use the <span> element. And when you want to group some content and apply styling to it and want the element to create a new line or block-level formatting context, you should use the <div> element.

In summary, the main difference between the <div> and <span> elements is that <div> is a block-level element used for grouping larger sections of content, while <span> is an inline element used for grouping smaller sections of text within a block-level element.