About formatting text (CSS versus HTML)

Formatting text in Dreamweaver is similar to using a standard word processor. You can set default formatting styles (Paragraph, Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on) for a block of text, change the font, size, color, and alignment of selected text, or apply text styles such as bold, italic, code (monospace), and underline.

Dreamweaver has two Property inspectors, integrated into one: the CSS Property inspector and the HTML Property inspector. When you use the CSS Property inspector, Dreamweaver formats text using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS gives web designers and developers greater control over web page design, while providing improved features for accessibility and reduced file size. The CSS Property inspector lets you access existing styles, as well as create new ones.

Using CSS is a way to control the style of a web page without compromising its structure. By separating visual design elements (fonts, colors, margins, and so on) from the structural logic of a web page, CSS gives web designers visual and typographic control without sacrificing the integrity of the content. In addition, defining typographic design and page layout from within a single, distinct block of code—without having to resort to image maps, font tags, tables, and spacer GIFs—allows for faster downloads, streamlined site maintenance, and a central point from which to control design attributes across multiple web pages.

You can store styles created with CSS directly in the document, or for more power and flexibility, you can store styles in an external style sheet. If you attach an external style sheet to several web pages, all the pages automatically reflect any changes you make to the style sheet. To access all CSS rules for a page, use the CSS Styles panel (Window > CSS Styles). To access rules that apply to a current selection, use the CSS Styles panel (Current mode) or the Targeted Rule pop-up menu in the CSS Property inspector.

If you prefer, you can use HTML markup tags to format text in your web pages. To use HTML tags instead of CSS, format your text using the HTML Property inspector.

 community help (adobe.com)