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Bootstrap Text/Typography


Bootstrap's Default Settings

Bootstrap's global default font-size is 14px, with a line-height of 1.428.

This is applied to the <body> and all paragraphs.

In addition, all <p> elements have a bottom margin that equals half their computed line-height (10px by default).


Bootstrap vs. Browser Defaults

In this chapter, we will look at some HTML elements that will be styled a little bit differently by Bootstrap than browser defaults.


<h1> - <h6>

By default, Bootstrap will style the HTML headings (<h1> to <h6>) in the following way:

Example

h1 Bootstrap heading (36px)

h2 Bootstrap heading (30px)

h3 Bootstrap heading (24px)

h4 Bootstrap heading (18px)

h5 Bootstrap heading (14px)
h6 Bootstrap heading (12px)
Try it Yourself »

<small>

In Bootstrap the HTML <small> element is used to create a lighter, secondary text in any heading:

Example

h1 heading secondary text

h2 heading secondary text

h3 heading secondary text

h4 heading secondary text

h5 heading secondary text
h6 heading secondary text
Try it Yourself »

<mark>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <mark> element in the following way:

Example

Use the mark element to highlight text.

Try it Yourself »

<abbr>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <abbr> element in the following way:

Example

The WHO was founded in 1948.

Try it Yourself »

<blockquote>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <blockquote> element in the following way:

Example

For 50 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. The world's leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally.

From WWF's website
Try it Yourself »

To show the quote on the right, use the .blockquote-reverse class:

Example

For 50 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. The world's leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally.

From WWF's website
Try it Yourself »

<dl>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <dl> element in the following way:

Example

Coffee
- black hot drink
Milk
- white cold drink
Try it Yourself »

<code>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <code> element in the following way:

Example

The following HTML elements: span, section, and div defines a section in a document.

Try it Yourself »

<kbd>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <kbd> element in the following way:

Example

Use ctrl + p to open the Print dialog box.

Try it Yourself »

<pre>

Bootstrap will style the HTML <pre> element in the following way:

Example

Text in a pre element
is displayed in a fixed-width
font, and it preserves
both      spaces and
line breaks.
Try it Yourself »

Contextual Colors and Backgrounds

Bootstrap also has some contextual classes that can be used to provide "meaning through colors".

The classes for text colors are:.text-muted, .text-primary, .text-success, .text-info, .text-warning, and .text-danger:

Example

This text is muted.

This text is important.

This text indicates success.

This text represents some information.

This text represents a warning.

This text represents danger.

Try it Yourself »

The classes for background colors are:.bg-primary, .bg-success, bg-info, bg-warning, and .bg-danger:

Example

This text is important.

This text indicates success.

This text represents some information.

This text represents a warning.

This text represents danger.

Try it Yourself »

More Typography Classes

The Bootstrap classes below can be added to style HTML elements further:

Class Description Example
.lead Makes a paragraph stand out Try it
.small Indicates smaller text (set to 85% of the size of the parent) Try it
.text-left Indicates left-aligned text Try it
.text-center Indicates center-aligned text Try it
.text-right Indicates right-aligned text Try it
.text-justify Indicates justified text Try it
.text-nowrap Indicates no wrap text Try it
.text-lowercase Indicates lowercased text Try it
.text-uppercase Indicates uppercased text Try it
.text-capitalize Indicates capitalized text Try it
.initialism Displays the text inside an <abbr> element in a slightly smaller font size Try it
.list-unstyled Removes the default list-style and left margin on list items (works on both <ul> and <ol>). This class only applies to immediate children list items (to remove the default list-style from any nested lists, apply this class to any nested lists as well) Try it
.list-inline Places all list items on a single line Try it
.dl-horizontal Lines up the terms (<dt>) and descriptions (<dd>) in <dl> elements side-by-side. Starts off like default <dl>s, but when the browser window expands, it will line up side-by-side Try it
.pre-scrollable Makes a <pre> element scrollable Try it

Complete Bootstrap Typography Reference

For a complete reference of all typography elements/classes, go to our complete Bootstrap Typography Reference.

Also look at our Bootstrap Helper Classes Reference for more information about contextual classes.