TL;DR – HTML blockquote and regular quote tags surround quotation text, preventing plagiarism. Citation tags refer to the title of the cited work.
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Quoting and Citing in HTML
Quotation and citation are an important part of content writing on your website. To mark text passages that are cited or quoted, we use a few specific HTML elements:
| Element | Used for | Defines |
|---|---|---|
| <q> | Quotation | An inline quote |
| <blockquote> | Quotation | A block-level quote |
| <cite> | Quotation and citation | The title of the quoted/cited work |
When learning to write HTML quotation code, beginners often get confused about the difference between quotation and citation. It is actually very simple: quotation uses exact words from the author, and citation expresses their ideas using different words.
HTML Quote Code: Elements to Use
The quotation you want to include in your text should be inserted inside <q> tags. They surround an inline quote in HTML quotation marks automatically:
The HTML <blockquote> element separates the quote in a different manner: it is displayed as a block element with indentations:
<p>I am some normal text <blockquote>The blockquote starts here and ends here</blockquote> and here is some normal text again</p>Note: HTML blockquotes are usually used for longer quotes.
The HTML <cite> element defines the title of the work you're citing or quoting. The content of these tags has no HTML quotation marks and is usually displayed in italics:
HTML Blockquote: Summary
- HTML <q> elements can be nested. Notice the single quotes HTML places around the nested element:
He shrugged: <q>Well, as Winnie the Pooh once said, <q>I’m short and fat and proud of that!</q></q>- HTML blockquotes can also be useful in styling, as they help to break the flow of your web page and divide it into sections.
- You can also use HTML blockquotes to emphasize pull quotes or testimonials.