CSS selectors are used to target HTML elements on your pages, allowing you to apply styles based on their ID, class, type attributes, and more. There are mainly 5 types of selectors.
- Basic CSS Selectors: These are used to target elements by tag, .class, or #id for fundamental styling needs.
- Combinators: Ideal for styling elements based on their DOM relationships (e.g., parent-child or sibling relationships).
- Group Selectors: Use to apply the same styles to multiple, unrelated elements simultaneously.
- Attribute Selectors: Perfect for styling elements based on specific attributes or values, such as form inputs or links with certain prefixes or states.
- Pseudo-Classes: Best for styling elements dynamically or interactively, like :hover for user interaction or :nth-child() for structural styling.
Types of CSS Selectors
Basic Selectors
Basic selectors in CSS are simple tools used to target specific HTML elements for styling. These include selecting by element name (e.g., h1), class (.class Name), ID (#idName), or universally (* for all elements).
1. Universal Selector (*): Selects all elements on the page and applies the same style universally. For example, setting the font color for every element.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<style>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
* {
color: red;
}
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Header Text</h1>
<p>Paragraph Text</p>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
2. Element Selector: Targets all elements of a specific type, such as paragraphs or headers. For example, setting a common font size for all paragraphs
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
p {
font-size: 16px;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<p>This paragraph text will be styled with font size 16px.</p>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
3. Class Selector (.): Applies styles to elements with a specific class attribute. For instance, making all buttons have a blue background.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
.button {
background-color: blue;
color: white;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<button class="button">Click Me!</button>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
4. ID Selector (#): Styles a single element identified by its unique id. For example, changing the background color of a header
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
#header {
background-color: gray;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<div id="header">This is the header section.</div>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
Combinator Selectors
Combinators in CSS are used to define relationships between selectors, allowing you to style elements based on their hierarchy or positioning in the document. Common combinators include descendant ( ), child (>), adjacent sibling (+), and general sibling (~).
1. Descendant Selectors: Targets an element inside another, such as paragraphs inside div .For example, styling paragraphs inside a div.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
div p {
color: red;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<div>
<p>This paragraph inside a div will be red.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
2. Child Selector (>): They only affects the direct child elements of a parent. For example, styling direct children paragraphs of a div.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
div>p {
margin-left: 20px;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<div>
<p>This paragraph is a direct child of div and has a left margin.</p>
<div>
<p>This paragraph is not a direct child of the outer div.</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
3. Adjacent Sibling Selector (+): Styles an element immediately following another .For example, making the first paragraph bold after an h1.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
h1+p {
font-weight: bold;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a header.</h1>
<p>This paragraph is immediately following the header and is bold.</p>
<p>This paragraph will not be bold.</p>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
4. General Sibling Selector (~): Styles all siblings that follow a specific element. For example, italicizing all paragraphs following an h1.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
h1~p {
font-style: italic;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a header.</h1>
<p>This paragraph is a sibling of the header and will be italicized.</p>
<p>This paragraph will also be italicized because it's a sibling of the header.</p>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
Attribute Selectors
Attribute selectors in CSS target elements based on the presence or value of their attributes. Examples include [attr] (selects elements with the attribute), [attr=”value”] (matches specific values), and [attr^=”val”] (matches values starting with “val”).
1. Presence Selector: It selects elements that contain a specific attribute. For example, styling all inputs with a type attribute.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
input[type] {
border: 2px solid black;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<input type="text" placeholder="Text input">
<input type="number" placeholder="Number input">
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
2. Attribute Value Selector: It targets elements with a particular attribute value. For example, styling text inputs.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
input[type="text"] {
background-color: yellow;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<input type="text" placeholder="Text input">
<input type="password" placeholder="Password input">
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
3. Substring Matching(^=): It matches elements where the attribute contains a substring. For example, styling links with https in their href.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
a[href^="https"] {
color: green;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<a href="https://example.com">Secure link</a>
<a href="http://example.com">Non-secure link</a>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
4. Wildcard Selector (*=): Matches elements where the attribute value contains a specific string. For example, underlining links with example in the URL.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
a[href*="example"] {
text-decoration: underline;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<a href="https://example.com">This link contains 'example' and is underlined.</a>
<a href="https://otherlink.com">This link is not underlined.</a>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
Pseudo-Classes
Pseudo-classes in CSS define the special states of elements for styling. Examples include :hover (applies when an element is hovered), :first-child (targets the first child of a parent), and :nth-child(2) (targets the second child).
1. :hover: Styles elements when the user hovers over them. For example, changing the color of a link when hovered.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
a:hover {
color: red;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<a href="https://example.com">Hover over this link to see the effect.</a>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
2. :focus: Styles the elements when the user focus on any particular element.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
input:focus {
outline: 3px solid red;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
</head>
<body>
<input type="text">
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
3. :first-child: Styles the element which is the first child of it’s parent.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
p:first-child {
color: brown;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<div>
<p>Hello1</p>
<p>Hello2</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
4. :last-child: Style’s the element which is the last child of it’s parent.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
p:last-child {
color:green;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<div>
<p>Hello1</p>
<p>Hello2</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
5. :not: Helps to remove a particular element from the styling index or styling context.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
p:not(.one) {
color: blue;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<div>
<p class="one">Hello1</p>
<p class="two">Hello2</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
5. Pseudo-Element’s
The Pseudo Element help’s to access and control a specific part of an element for inserting content before an element or inserting content after an element. Targeting any specific part of a word or a sentence. It is usually used to beautify the internal content of an element.
1. ::before : It helps to insert some content before an element.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
h1::before {
content: "★ "
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<h1 tabindex="0">Welcome to GFG</h1>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
2. ::after: It help’s to insert some content after an element.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
h1:active::before {
content: "☀ ";
color: orangered;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<h1 tabindex="0">Welcome to GFG</h1>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
3. ::first-line: Styles the first line of text within a block element. Line breaks mark the beginning of a new line.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
p::first-line {
color: red;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<p>Welcome to GFG<br>
Hello GFG</p>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
4. ::first-letter: It Styles the first-letter of a word or a sentence.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
p::first-letter {
color: red;
font-size: 23px;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<p>Welcome to GFG</p>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
5. ::placeholder: Styles the placeholder of a specific input field.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<html>
<head>
</head>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
<style>
input::placeholder {
font-size: 20x;
font-family: sans-serif;
font-weight: 900;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts{-->
<body>
<input type="text" placeholder="Enter your name">
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends }-->
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