In HTML, the <strong> tag indicates that the content carries more importance, seriousness, or urgency. Visually, most browsers display content in the <strong> tag identically to the content inside the <b> tag — bold. If they look the same, in which cases should you use the <strong> tag? This is one of the most common reasons for confusion among new developers, so let us walk you through a metaphor.

The <b> tag makes the marked text stand out in a way that a cowboy in a white hat would stand out from a group of cowboys in black hats — by being more noticeable without the different color adding more importance. Adding the <strong> tag is like giving a cowboy a sheriff's badge, thus denoting their higher rank. Use the <strong> element to mark content that is more important than the surrounding text — for example, warnings.