Margin
The CSS margin properties define the space around elements.
The margin clears an area around an element (outside the border). The margin does not have a background color, and is completely transparent.
The top, right, bottom, and left margin can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand margin property can also be used, to change all margins at once.
Possible Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| auto | The browser calculates a margin |
| length | Specifies a margin in px, pt, cm, etc. Default value is 0px |
| % | Specifies a margin in percent of the width of the containing element |
| inherit | Specifies that the margin should be inherited from the parent element |
 |
Note: It is also possible to use negative values, to overlap content. |
|---|
Margin – Individual sides
In CSS, it is possible to specify different margins for different sides of an element:
Example
p { margin-top: 100px; margin-bottom: 100px; margin-right: 150px; margin-left: 50px; }
Margin – Shorthand property
To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the margin properties in one property. This is called a shorthand property.
The shorthand property for all the margin properties is “margin”:
Example
p { margin: 100px 50px; }
The margin property can have from one to four values.
- margin: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
- top margin is 25px
- right margin is 50px
- bottom margin is 75px
- left margin is 100px
- margin: 25px 50px 75px;
- top margin is 25px
- right and left margins are 50px
- bottom margin is 75px
- margin: 25px 50px;
- top and bottom margins are 25px
- right and left margins are 50px
- margin: 25px;
- all four margins are 25px
Padding
The CSS padding properties define the space between the element border and the element content.
The padding clears an area around the content (inside the border) of an element. The padding is affected by the background color of the element.
The top, right, bottom, and left padding can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand padding property can also be used, to change all paddings at once.
Possible Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| length | Defines a fixed padding (in pixels, pt, em, etc.) |
| % | Defines a padding in % of the containing element |
Padding – Individual sides
In CSS, it is possible to specify different padding for different sides:
Example
p { padding-top: 25px; padding-right: 50px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-left: 50px; }
Padding – Shorthand property
To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the padding properties in one property. This is called a shorthand property.
The shorthand property for all the padding properties is “padding”:
Example
p { padding: 25px 50px; }
The padding property can have from one to four values.
- padding: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
- top padding is 25px
- right padding is 50px
- bottom padding is 75px
- left padding is 100px
- padding: 25px 50px 75px;
- top padding is 25px
- right and left paddings are 50px
- bottom padding is 75px
- padding: 25px 50px;
- top and bottom paddings are 25px
- right and left paddings are 50px
- padding: 25px;
- all four paddings are 25px
