small
Represents side comments, disclaimers, caveats, and fine print. Rendered at a smaller font size.
Description
The <small> element represents side comments, caveats, and legal disclaimers — text that is de-emphasized relative to the main content. VB styles it with var(--font-size-sm).
It does not mean "make text smaller" — it has semantic meaning indicating the content is supplementary or less prominent.
When to Use
- Legal disclaimers: Terms of service, privacy notices
- Copyright notices: Footer copyright text
- Side comments: Parenthetical asides or caveats
- Price annotations: "per month, billed annually"
- Attribution: Source credits in blockquote captions
When NOT to Use
- For multiple paragraphs of fine print — use a
<section>with a smaller font class - Purely for styling — use CSS
font-size - For sub-headings — use heading hierarchy or
<hgroup>
Examples
Legal disclaimer
<p>Sign up for our newsletter today!</p><p><small>By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.</small></p>Copyright notice
<footer> <p><small>© 2026 Vanilla Breeze. All rights reserved.</small></p></footer>Side comment
<p>This feature is available in all modern browsers. <small>(IE 11 is not supported.)</small></p>Price annotation
<p>$49.99 <small>per month, billed annually</small></p>CSS Reference
small CSS
small { font-size: var(--font-size-sm);}VB uses the --font-size-sm token rather than a relative em value, ensuring consistency with the type scale.
Accessibility
- Screen readers do not announce
<small>differently — the content is read normally - The smaller size is a visual cue only — do not hide important information in
<small> - Legal text that users must read should be at a readable size — don't abuse
<small>to make required text hard to read