Basic CSS

CSS(Cascading Style Sheets):-

 

CSS Introduction:-

• CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
• CSS describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on screen, paper, or in other media
• CSS saves a lot of work. It can control the layout of multiple web pages all at once
• External stylesheets are stored in CSS files

CSS Syntax

The selector points to the HTML element you want to style.

The declaration block contains one or more declarations separated by semicolons.

Each declaration includes a CSS property name and a value, separated by a colon.

Multiple CSS declarations are separated with semicolons, and declaration blocks are surrounded by curly braces.

Example

In this example all <p> elements will be center-aligned, with a red text color:

p {
  color: red;
  text-align: center;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS Selectors:-

CSS selectors are used to "find" (or select) the HTML elements you want to style.

We can divide CSS selectors into five categories:

• Simple selectors (select elements based on name, id, class)
• Combinator selectors (select elements based on a specific relationship between them)
• Pseudo-class selectors (select elements based on a certain state)
• Pseudo-elements selectors (select and style a part of an element)
• Attribute selectors (select elements based on an attribute or attribute value)

This page will explain the most basic CSS selectors.

The CSS element Selector

The element selector selects HTML elements based on the element name.

Example

Here, all <p> elements on the page will be center-aligned, with a red text color: 

p {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

The CSS id Selector

The id selector uses the id attribute of an HTML element to select a specific element.

The id of an element is unique within a page, so the id selector is used to select one unique element!

To select an element with a specific id, write a hash (#) character, followed by the id of the element.

Example

The CSS rule below will be applied to the HTML element with id="para1": 

#para1 {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

Note: An id name cannot start with a number!

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The CSS class Selector

The class selector selects HTML elements with a specific class attribute.

To select elements with a specific class, write a period (.) character, followed by the class name.

Example

In this example all HTML elements with class="center" will be red and center-aligned: 

.center {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

You can also specify that only specific HTML elements should be affected by a class.

Example

In this example only <p> elements with class="center" will be red and center-aligned: 

p.center {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

HTML elements can also refer to more than one class.

Example

In this example the <p> element will be styled according to class="center" and to class="large": 

<p class="center large">This paragraph refers to two classes.</p>

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Note: A class name cannot start with a number!

The CSS Universal Selector

The universal selector (*) selects all HTML elements on the page.

Example

The CSS rule below will affect every HTML element on the page: 

* {
  text-align: center;
  color: blue;
}

Try it Yourself »

The CSS Grouping Selector

The grouping selector selects all the HTML elements with the same style definitions.

Look at the following CSS code (the h1, h2, and p elements have the same style definitions):

h1 {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

h2 {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

p {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

It will be better to group the selectors, to minimize the code.

To group selectors, separate each selector with a comma.

Example

In this example we have grouped the selectors from the code above: 

h1, h2, p {
  text-align: center;
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

All CSS Simple Selectors

Selector	Example	Example description
#id	#firstname	Selects the element with id="firstname"
.class	.intro	Selects all elements with class="intro"
element.class	p.intro	Selects only <p> elements with class="intro"
*	*	Selects all elements
element	p	Selects all <p> elements
element,element,..	div, p	Selects all <div> elements and all <p> elements

Three Ways to Insert CSS:-

There are three ways of inserting a style sheet:

• External CSS
• Internal CSS
• Inline CSS

External CSS

With an external style sheet, you can change the look of an entire website by changing just one file!

Each HTML page must include a reference to the external style sheet file inside the <link> element, inside the head section.

Example

External styles are defined within the <link> element, inside the <head> section of an HTML page:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="mystyle.css">
</head>
<body>

<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

An external style sheet can be written in any text editor, and must be saved with a .css extension.

The external .css file should not contain any HTML tags.

Here is how the "mystyle.css" file looks:

"mystyle.css"

body {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

h1 {
  color: navy;
  margin-left: 20px;
}

Note: Do not add a space between the property value and the unit (such as margin-left: 20 px;). The correct way is: margin-left: 20px;

Internal CSS

An internal style sheet may be used if one single HTML page has a unique style.

The internal style is defined inside the <style> element, inside the head section.

Example

Internal styles are defined within the <style> element, inside the <head> section of an HTML page:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
body {
  background-color: linen;
}

h1 {
  color: maroon;
  margin-left: 40px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Inline CSS

An inline style may be used to apply a unique style for a single element.

To use inline styles, add the style attribute to the relevant element. The style attribute can contain any CSS property.

Example

Inline styles are defined within the "style" attribute of the relevant element:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h1 style="color:blue;text-align:center;">This is a heading</h1>
<p style="color:red;">This is a paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Tip: An inline style loses many of the advantages of a style sheet (by mixing content with presentation). Use this method sparingly.

Multiple Style Sheets

If some properties have been defined for the same selector (element) in different style sheets, the value from the last read style sheet will be used. 

Assume that an external style sheet has the following style for the <h1> element:

h1 {
  color: navy;
}

Then, assume that an internal style sheet also has the following style for the <h1> element:

h1 {
  color: orange;   
}

Example

If the internal style is defined after the link to the external style sheet, the <h1> elements will be "orange":

<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css">
<style>
h1 {
  color: orange;
}
</style>
</head>

Try it Yourself »

Example

However, if the internal style is defined before the link to the external style sheet, the <h1> elements will be "navy": 

<head>
<style>
h1 {
  color: orange;
}
</style>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css">
</head>

Try it Yourself »

HTML and CSS Comments 

Comments are used to explain the code, and may help when you edit the source code at a later date.

Comments are ignored by browsers.

A CSS comment is placed inside the <style> element, and starts with /* and ends with */:

Example

/* This is a single-line comment */
p {
  color: red;
}

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You can add comments wherever you want in the code:

Example

p {
  color: red;  /* Set text color to red */
}

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Comments can also span multiple lines: 

Example

/* This is
a multi-line
comment */

p {
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS Comments:-

Comments are used to explain the code, and may help when you edit the source code at a later date.

Comments are ignored by browsers.

A CSS comment is placed inside the <style> element, and starts with /* and ends with */:

Example

/* This is a single-line comment */
p {
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

You can add comments wherever you want in the code:

Example

p {
  color: red;  /* Set text color to red */
}

Try it Yourself »

Comments can also span multiple lines: 

Example

/* This is
a multi-line
comment */

p {
  color: red;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS Color Names:-

In CSS, a color can be specified by using a predefined color name:

Tomato

Orange

DodgerBlue

MediumSeaGreen

Gray

SlateBlue

Violet

LightGray

CSS Background Color

You can set the background color for HTML elements:

Hello World

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Example

<h1 style="background-color:DodgerBlue;">Hello World</h1>
<p style="background-color:Tomato;">Lorem ipsum...</p>

Try it Yourself »

CSS Text Color

You can set the color of text:

Hello World

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.

Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Example

<h1 style="color:Tomato;">Hello World</h1>
<p style="color:DodgerBlue;">Lorem ipsum...</p>
<p style="color:MediumSeaGreen;">Ut wisi enim...</p>

Try it Yourself »

CSS Border Color

Hello World

Hello World

Hello World

Example

<h1 style="border:2px solid Tomato;">Hello World</h1>
<h1 style="border:2px solid DodgerBlue;">Hello World</h1>
<h1 style="border:2px solid Violet;">Hello World</h1>

Try it Yourself »

CSS Color Values

In CSS, colors can also be specified using RGB values, HEX values, HSL values, RGBA values, and HSLA values:

Same as color name "Tomato":

rgb(255, 99, 71)

#ff6347

hsl(9, 100%, 64%)

Same as color name "Tomato", but 50% transparent:

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.5)

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.5)

<h1 style="background-color:rgb(255, 99, 71);">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:#ff6347;">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:hsl(9, 100%, 64%);">...</h1>

<h1 style="background-color:rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.5);">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.5);">...</h1>

Try it Yourself »

Learn more about Color Values

You will learn more about RGB, HEX and HSL in the next chapters.

CSS RGB COLOR:-

An RGB color value represents RED, GREEN, and BLUE light sources.

In CSS, a color can be specified as an RGB value, using this formula:

rgb(red, green, blue)

Each parameter (red, green, and blue) defines the intensity of the color between 0 and 255.

For example, rgb(255, 0, 0) is displayed as red, because red is set to its highest value (255) and the others are set to 0.

To display black, set all color parameters to 0, like this: rgb(0, 0, 0).

To display white, set all color parameters to 255, like this: rgb(255, 255, 255).

Experiment by mixing the RGB values below:

rgb(255, 99, 71)

RED

255

GREEN

99

BLUE

71

Example

rgb(255, 0, 0)

rgb(0, 0, 255)

rgb(60, 179, 113)

rgb(238, 130, 238)

rgb(255, 165, 0)

rgb(106, 90, 205)

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Shades of gray are often defined using equal values for all the 3 light sources:

Example

rgb(60, 60, 60)

rgb(90, 90, 90)

rgb(120, 120, 120)

rgb(180, 180, 180)

rgb(210, 210, 210)

rgb(240, 240, 240)

Try it Yourself »

RGBA Value

RGBA color values are an extension of RGB color values with an alpha channel - which specifies the opacity for a color.

An RGBA color value is specified with:

rgba(red, green, blue, alpha)

The alpha parameter is a number between 0.0 (fully transparent) and 1.0 (not transparent at all):

Experiment by mixing the RGBA values below:

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.5)

RED

255

GREEN

99

BLUE

71

ALPHA

0.5

Example

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0)

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.2)

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.4)

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.6)

rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.8)

rgba(255, 99, 71, 1)

Try it Yourself »

CSS HEX Color

A hexadecimal color is specified with: #RRGGBB, where the RR (red), GG (green) and BB (blue) hexadecimal integers specify the components of the color.

HEX Value

In CSS, a color can be specified using a hexadecimal value in the form:

#rrggbb

Where rr (red), gg (green) and bb (blue) are hexadecimal values between 00 and ff (same as decimal 0-255).

For example, #ff0000 is displayed as red, because red is set to its highest value (ff) and the others are set to the lowest value (00).

To display black, set all values to 00, like this: #000000.

To display white, set all values to ff, like this: #ffffff.  

Experiment by mixing the HEX values below:

#ff6347

RED

ff

GREEN

63

BLUE

47

Example

#ff0000

#0000ff

#3cb371

#ee82ee

#ffa500

#6a5acd

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Shades of gray are often defined using equal values for all the 3 light sources:

Example

#3c3c3c

#616161

#787878

#b4b4b4

#f0f0f0

#f9f9f9

Try it Yourself »

3 Digit HEX Value

Sometimes you will see a 3-digit hex code in the CSS source.

The 3-digit hex code is a shorthand for some 6-digit hex codes.

The 3-digit hex code has the following form:

#rgb

Where r, g, and b represents the red, green, and blue components with values between 0 and f.

The 3-digit hex code can only be used when both the values (RR, GG, and BB) are the same for each components. So, if we have #ff00cc, it can be written like this: #f0c.

Here is an example:

Example

body {
  background-color: #fc9; /* same as #ffcc99 */
}

h1 {
  color: #f0f; /* same as #ff00ff */
}

p {
  color: #b58; /* same as #bb5588 */
}

Try it Yourself » 

CSS HSL Colors:-

HSL stands for hue, saturation, and lightness.

HSL Value

In CSS, a color can be specified using hue, saturation, and lightness (HSL) in the form:

hsl(hue, saturation, lightness)

Hue is a degree on the color wheel from 0 to 360. 0 is red, 120 is green, and 240 is blue.

Saturation is a percentage value, 0% means a shade of gray, and 100% is the full color.

Lightness is also a percentage, 0% is black, 50% is neither light or dark, 100% is white

Experiment by mixing the HSL values below:

hsl(0, 100%, 50%)

HUE

0

SATURATION

100%

LIGHTNESS

50%

Example

hsl(0, 100%, 50%)

hsl(240, 100%, 50%)

hsl(147, 50%, 47%)

hsl(300, 76%, 72%)

hsl(39, 100%, 50%)

hsl(248, 53%, 58%)

Try it Yourself »

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Saturation:-

Saturation can be described as the intensity of a color.

100% is pure color, no shades of gray

50% is 50% gray, but you can still see the color.

0% is completely gray, you can no longer see the color.

Example

hsl(0, 100%, 50%)

hsl(0, 80%, 50%)

hsl(0, 60%, 50%)

hsl(0, 40%, 50%)

hsl(0, 20%, 50%)

hsl(0, 0%, 50%)

Try it Yourself »

Lightness

The lightness of a color can be described as how much light you want to give the color, where 0% means no light (black), 50% means 50% light (neither dark nor light) 100% means full lightness (white).

Example

hsl(0, 100%, 0%)

hsl(0, 100%, 25%)

hsl(0, 100%, 50%)

hsl(0, 100%, 75%)

hsl(0, 100%, 90%)

hsl(0, 100%, 100%)

Try it Yourself »

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Shades of Gray

Shades of gray are often defined by setting the hue and saturation to 0, and adjust the lightness from 0% to 100% to get darker/lighter shades:

Example

hsl(0, 0%, 0%)

hsl(0, 0%, 24%)

hsl(0, 0%, 47%)

hsl(0, 0%, 71%)

hsl(0, 0%, 94%)

hsl(0, 0%, 100%)

Try it Yourself »

HSLA Value

HSLA color values are an extension of HSL color values with an alpha channel - which specifies the opacity for a color.

An HSLA color value is specified with:

hsla(hue, saturation, lightness, alpha)

The alpha parameter is a number between 0.0 (fully transparent) and 1.0 (not transparent at all):

Experiment by mixing the HSLA values below:

hsla(0, 100%, 50%, 0.5)

HUE

0

SATURATION

100%

LIGHTNESS

50%

ALPHA

0.5

Example

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0)

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.2)

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.4)

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.6)

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.8)

hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 1)

Try it Yourself »

CSS background:-

The CSS background properties are used to add background effects for elements.

---

In these chapters, you will learn about the following CSS background properties:

• background-color
• background-image
• background-repeat
• background-attachment
• background-position
• background (shorthand property)

---

CSS background-color

The background-color property specifies the background color of an element.

Example

The background color of a page is set like this:

body {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

Try it Yourself »

With CSS, a color is most often specified by:

• a valid color name - like "red"
• a HEX value - like "#ff0000"
• an RGB value - like "rgb(255,0,0)"

Look at CSS Color Values for a complete list of possible color values.

---

Other Elements

You can set the background color for any HTML elements:

Example

Here, the <h1>, <p>, and <div> elements will have different background colors: 

h1 {
  background-color: green;
}

div {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

p {
  background-color: yellow;
}

Try it Yourself »

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Opacity / Transparency

The opacity property specifies the opacity/transparency of an element. It can take a value from 0.0 - 1.0. The lower value, the more transparent:

opacity 1

opacity 0.6

opacity 0.3

opacity 0.1

Example

div {
  background-color: green;
  opacity: 0.3;
}

Try it Yourself »

Note: When using the opacity property to add transparency to the background of an element, all of its child elements inherit the same transparency. This can make the text inside a fully transparent element hard to read.

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Transparency using RGBA

If you do not want to apply opacity to child elements, like in our example above, use RGBA color values. The following example sets the opacity for the background color and not the text:

100% opacity

60% opacity

30% opacity

10% opacity

You learned from our CSS Colors Chapter, that you can use RGB as a color value. In addition to RGB, you can use an RGB color value with an alpha channel (RGBA) - which specifies the opacity for a color.

An RGBA color value is specified with: rgba(red, green, blue, alpha). The alpha parameter is a number between 0.0 (fully transparent) and 1.0 (fully opaque).

Tip: You will learn more about RGBA Colors in our CSS Colors Chapter.

Example

div {
  background: rgba(0, 128, 0, 0.3) /* Green background with 30% opacity */
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS background-image:-

The background-image property specifies an image to use as the background of an element.

By default, the image is repeated so it covers the entire element.

Example

Set the background image for a page: 

body {
  background-image: url("paper.gif");
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

This example shows a bad combination of text and background image. The text is hardly readable: 

body {
  background-image: url("bgdesert.jpg");
}

Try it Yourself »

Note: When using a background image, use an image that does not disturb the text.

The background image can also be set for specific elements, like the <p> element:

Example

p {
  background-image: url("paper.gif");
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS background-repeat:-

By default, the background-image property repeats an image both horizontally and vertically.

Some images should be repeated only horizontally or vertically, or they will look strange, like this:

Example

body {
  background-image: url("gradient_bg.png");
}

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If the image above is repeated only horizontally (background-repeat: repeat-x;), the background will look better:

Example

body {
  background-image: url("gradient_bg.png");
  background-repeat: repeat-x;
}

Try it Yourself »

Tip: To repeat an image vertically, set background-repeat: repeat-y;

---

CSS background-repeat: no-repeat

Showing the background image only once is also specified by the background-repeat property:

Example

Show the background image only once:

body {
  background-image: url("img_tree.png");
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
}

Try it Yourself »

In the example above, the background image is placed in the same place as the text. We want to change the position of the image, so that it does not disturb the text too much.

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CSS background-position

The background-position property is used to specify the position of the background image.

Example

Position the background image in the top-right corner: 

body {
  background-image: url("img_tree.png");
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: right top;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS background-attachment:-

The background-attachment property specifies whether the background image should scroll or be fixed (will not scroll with the rest of the page):

Example

Specify that the background image should be fixed:

body {
  background-image: url("img_tree.png");
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: right top;
  background-attachment: fixed;
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Specify that the background image should scroll with the rest of the page:

body {
  background-image: url("img_tree.png");
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: right top;
  background-attachment: scroll;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS border :-

The CSS border properties allow you to specify the style, width, and color of an element's border.

---

I have borders on all sides.

I have a red bottom border.

I have rounded borders.

I have a blue left border.

---

CSS Border Style

The border-style property specifies what kind of border to display.

The following values are allowed:

• dotted - Defines a dotted border
• dashed - Defines a dashed border
• solid - Defines a solid border
• double - Defines a double border
• groove - Defines a 3D grooved border. The effect depends on the border-color value
• ridge - Defines a 3D ridged border. The effect depends on the border-color value
• inset - Defines a 3D inset border. The effect depends on the border-color value
• outset - Defines a 3D outset border. The effect depends on the border-color value
• none - Defines no border
• hidden - Defines a hidden border

The border-style property can have from one to four values (for the top border, right border, bottom border, and the left border).

Example

Demonstration of the different border styles:

p.dotted {border-style: dotted;}
p.dashed {border-style: dashed;}
p.solid {border-style: solid;}
p.double {border-style: double;}
p.groove {border-style: groove;}
p.ridge {border-style: ridge;}
p.inset {border-style: inset;}
p.outset {border-style: outset;}
p.none {border-style: none;}
p.hidden {border-style: hidden;}
p.mix {border-style: dotted dashed solid double;}

Result:

A dotted border.

A dashed border.

A solid border.

A double border.

A groove border. The effect depends on the border-color value.

A ridge border. The effect depends on the border-color value.

An inset border. The effect depends on the border-color value.

An outset border. The effect depends on the border-color value.

No border.

A hidden border.

A mixed border.

Try it Yourself »

CSS Border Width:-

The border-width property specifies the width of the four borders.

The width can be set as a specific size (in px, pt, cm, em, etc) or by using one of the three pre-defined values: thin, medium, or thick:

Example

Demonstration of the different border widths:

p.one {
  border-style: solid;
  border-width: 5px;
}

p.two {
  border-style: solid;
  border-width: medium;
}

p.three {
  border-style: dotted;
  border-width: 2px;
}

p.four {
  border-style: dotted;
  border-width: thick;
}

Result:

5px border-width

medium border-width

2px border-width

thick border-width

Try it Yourself »

CSS Border Color:-

The border-color property is used to set the color of the four borders.

The color can be set by:

• name - specify a color name, like "red"
• HEX - specify a HEX value, like "#ff0000"
• RGB - specify a RGB value, like "rgb(255,0,0)"
• HSL - specify a HSL value, like "hsl(0, 100%, 50%)"
• transparent

Note: If border-color is not set, it inherits the color of the element.

Example

Demonstration of the different border colors:

p.one {
  border-style: solid;
  border-color: red;
}

p.two {
  border-style: solid;
  border-color: green;
}

p.three {
  border-style: dotted;
  border-color: blue;
}

Result:

Red border

Green border

Blue border

Try it Yourself »

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Specific Side Colors

The border-color property can have from one to four values (for the top border, right border, bottom border, and the left border). 

Example

p.one {
  border-style: solid;
  border-color: red green blue yellow; /* red top, green right, blue bottom and yellow left */
}

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HEX Values

The color of the border can also be specified using a hexadecimal value (HEX):

Example

p.one {
  border-style: solid;
  border-color: #ff0000; /* red */
}

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RGB Values

Or by using RGB values:

Example

p.one {
  border-style: solid;
  border-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); /* red */
}

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HSL Values

You can also use HSL values:

Example

p.one {
  border-style: solid;
  border-color: hsl(0, 100%, 50%); /* red */
}

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CSS Margins :-

Margins are used to create space around elements, outside of any defined borders.

---

This element has a margin of 70px.

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The CSS margin properties are used to create space around elements, outside of any defined borders.

With CSS, you have full control over the margins. There are properties for setting the margin for each side of an element (top, right, bottom, and left).

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Margin - Individual Sides

CSS has properties for specifying the margin for each side of an element:

• margin-top
• margin-right
• margin-bottom
• margin-left

All the margin properties can have the following values:

• auto - the browser calculates the margin
• length - specifies a margin in px, pt, cm, etc.
• % - specifies a margin in % of the width of the containing element
• inherit - specifies that the margin should be inherited from the parent element

Tip: Negative values are allowed.

Example

Set different margins for all four sides of a <p> element:

p {
  margin-top: 100px;
  margin-bottom: 100px;
  margin-right: 150px;
  margin-left: 80px;
}

Try it Yourself »

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Margin - Shorthand Property

To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the margin properties in one property.

The margin property is a shorthand property for the following individual margin properties:

• margin-top
• margin-right
• margin-bottom
• margin-left

So, here is how it works:

If the margin property has four values:

• margin: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
  • top margin is 25px
  • right margin is 50px
  • bottom margin is 75px
  • left margin is 100px

Example

Use the margin shorthand property with four values:

p {
  margin: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
}

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If the margin property has three values:

• margin: 25px 50px 75px;
  • top margin is 25px
  • right and left margins are 50px
  • bottom margin is 75px

Example

Use the margin shorthand property with three values: 

p {
  margin: 25px 50px 75px;
}

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If the margin property has two values:

• margin: 25px 50px;
  • top and bottom margins are 25px
  • right and left margins are 50px

Example

Use the margin shorthand property with two values: 

p {
  margin: 25px 50px;
}

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If the margin property has one value:

• margin: 25px;
  • all four margins are 25px

Example

Use the margin shorthand property with one value: 

p {
  margin: 25px;
}

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The auto Value

You can set the margin property to auto to horizontally center the element within its container.

The element will then take up the specified width, and the remaining space will be split equally between the left and right margins.

Example

Use margin: auto:

div {
  width: 300px;
  margin: auto;
  border: 1px solid red;
}

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The inherit Value

This example lets the left margin of the <p class="ex1"> element be inherited from the parent element (<div>):

Example

Use of the inherit value:

div {
  border: 1px solid red;
  margin-left: 100px;
}

p.ex1 {
  margin-left: inherit;
}

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CSS Padding:-

The CSS padding properties are used to generate space around an element's content, inside of any defined borders.

With CSS, you have full control over the padding. There are properties for setting the padding for each side of an element (top, right, bottom, and left).

---

Padding - Individual Sides

CSS has properties for specifying the padding for each side of an element:

• padding-top
• padding-right
• padding-bottom
• padding-left

All the padding properties can have the following values:

• length - specifies a padding in px, pt, cm, etc.
• % - specifies a padding in % of the width of the containing element
• inherit - specifies that the padding should be inherited from the parent element

Note: Negative values are not allowed.

Example

Set different padding for all four sides of a <div> element:  

div {
  padding-top: 50px;
  padding-right: 30px;
  padding-bottom: 50px;
  padding-left: 80px;
}

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CSS height and width :-

The CSS height and width properties are used to set the height and width of an element.

The CSS max-width property is used to set the maximum width of an element.

---

This element has a height of 50 pixels and a width of 100%.

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CSS Setting height and width

The height and width properties are used to set the height and width of an element.

The height and width properties do not include padding, borders, or margins. It sets the height/width of the area inside the padding, border, and margin of the element.

CSS height and width Values

The height and width properties may have the following values:

• auto - This is default. The browser calculates the height and width
• length - Defines the height/width in px, cm etc.
• % - Defines the height/width in percent of the containing block
• initial - Sets the height/width to its default value
• inherit - The height/width will be inherited from its parent value

CSS height and width Examples

This element has a height of 200 pixels and a width of 50%

Example

Set the height and width of a <div> element:

div {
  height: 200px;
  width: 50%;
  background-color: powderblue;
}

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The CSS Box Model

In CSS, the term "box model" is used when talking about design and layout.

The CSS box model is essentially a box that wraps around every HTML element. It consists of: margins, borders, padding, and the actual content. The image below illustrates the box model:

Explanation of the different parts:

• Content - The content of the box, where text and images appear
• Padding - Clears an area around the content. The padding is transparent
• Border - A border that goes around the padding and content
• Margin - Clears an area outside the border. The margin is transparent

The box model allows us to add a border around elements, and to define space between elements. 

   Example

    Demonstration of the box model:

div {
  width: 300px;
  border: 15px solid green;
  padding: 50px;
  margin: 20px;
}

   Try it Yourself »

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