User interface framework with embedded text formatting

Various embodiments provide a user interface (UI) framework that implements techniques and processes for tagging text in a markup document and designating one or more custom text effects to be applied to the tagged text. Some embodiments provide an integrated application programming interface (API) that implements a common programming model for specifying UI elements and applying a wide variety of text effects to text content in a UI. Certain example embodiments enable a section of text to be identified and one or more custom effects for the text to be specified in line with the section of text. The UI framework may provide one or more pre-coded effects and/or a user may create one or more custom effects to be applied to the section of text.