Important CSS Properties You Must Know

Color and Background Properties

Color
Changes the color of text.

H1 {     color: blue;   }

or

H2 {    color: #000080;   }

Background-Color
Sets the background color of an element.

BODY { background-color: white; } 

H1 { background-color: #000080; } 

Background-Image
Sets the background image of an element.

BODY { background-image: url(/images/foo.gif); } 

P { background-image: url(http://www.htmlhelp.com/bg.png); } 

Background-Repeat
Determines how a specified background image is repeated.
The repeat-x value will repeat the image horizontally while the
repeat-y value will repeat the image vertically.

BODY { background: white url(candybar.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; } 

Background-Attachment
Determines if a specified background image will scroll with the
content or be fixed with regard to the canvas.

BODY { background: white url(candybar.gif); background-attachment: fixed; } 

Background
Used to combine all properties of background.

BODY { background: white url(http://www.htmlhelp.com/foo.gif); } BLOCKQUOTE { background: #7fffd4; } 

P { background: url(../backgrounds/pawn.png) #f0f8ff fixed; } TABLE { background: red url(leaves.jpg) no-repeat bottom right; }

Font Properties

Font-Family
Changes the font family of certain words, sentences,
paragraphs, etc.

P { font-family: "New Century Schoolbook", Times, serif; }

Font-Style
Changes text: normal, oblique, and italics.

H1 { font-style: oblique; }

P { font-style: normal; } 

Font-Variant
Used to display font in normal or small-caps.

SPAN { font-variant: small-caps; } 

Font-Weight
Used to specify the weight of the font.

H1 { font-weight: 800; }

or

P { font-weight: normal; }

Font-Size
Used to modify the size of the displayed font.

H1 { font-size: large; }

or

P { font-size: 12pt; } 

LI { font-size: 90%; } 

STRONG { font-size: larger; } 

Font
Used to combine all properties of fonts.

P { font: italic bold 12pt/14pt Times, serif; } 

Text Properties

Word-Spacing
Defines an additional amount of space between words.

P EM { word-spacing: 0.4em; } 

P.note { word-spacing: -0.2em; }

Letter-Spacing
Defines an additional amount of space between characters.

H1 { letter-spacing: 0.1em; }

P.note { letter-spacing: -0.1em; }

Text-Decoration
Allows text to be decorated through one of five properties:
underline, overline, line-through, blink, none.

A:link, A:visited, A:active { text-decoration: none; }

Vertical-Align
Used to alter the vertical positioning of an inline element,
relative to its parent element or to the element's line.

IMG.middle { vertical-align: middle; } 

IMG { vertical-align: 50%; } 

.exponent { vertical-align: super; } 

Text-Transform
Allows for capitalizing the first letter of each word (capitalize),
capitalizing all letters of a word (uppercase), using all small
letters in each word(lowercase), and the inital value(none).

H1 { text-transform: uppercase; } 

H2 { text-transform: capitalize; }

Text-Align
Used to justify text left, center, right, and justify.

H1 { text-align: center; }

P.newspaper { text-align: justify; }

Text-Indent
Used to specify the amount of indentation prior to the first line
of text.

P { text-indent: 5em; }

Line-Height
Used to control the spacing between baselines of text.

P { line-height: 200%; }

Classification Properties

List-Style-Type

Specifies the type of list-item marker, and is used if list-styleimage is none or if image loading is turned off.

LI.square { list-style-type: square; }

UL.plain { list-style-type: none; }

OL { list-style-type: upper-alpha; } /* A B C D E etc. */

OL OL { list-style-type: decimal; } /* 1 2 3 4 5 etc. */

OL OL OL { list-style-type: lower-roman; } /* i ii iii iv v etc. */

List-Style-Image
Specifies the image that will be used as a list-item marker when
image loading is turned on, replacing the marker specified in
the list-style-type property.

UL.check { list-style-image: url(/LI-markers/checkmark.gif); }

UL LI.x { list-style-image: url(x.png); } 

List-Style-Position
Determines where the marker is placed in regard to the list
item. If the value inside is used, the lines will wrap under the
marker instead of being indented. outside is default.

UL { list-style-position: inside;}

Box Properties

Margin-Top
Sets the top margin of an element by specifying a length or a
percentage.

BODY { margin-top: 5pt; }

Margin-Right
Sets the right margin of an element by specifying a length or a
percentage.

P.narrow { margin-right: 50%; }

Margin-Bottom
sets the bottom margin of an element by specifying a length or
a percentage.

DT { margin-bottom: 3em; }

Margin-Left
sets the left margin of an element by specifying a length or a
percentage.

ADDRESS { margin-left: 50%; }

Margin
Sets the margins of an element by specifying top, bottom, left
and right margins -- all either specifying length or percentage.

BODY { margin: 5em; } /* all margins 5em */

P { margin: 2em 4em; } /* top & bottom 2em, left & right 4em */

DIV { margin: 1em 2em 3em 4em; } /* top margin 1em, right 2em, bottom 3em, left 4em */

Padding-Top
Describes the amount of space between the top border and
the content of the selector.

P { padding-top: 20%; }

Padding-Right
Describes the amount of space between the right border and
the content of the selector.

P { padding-right: 20 px; }

Padding-Bottom
Describes the amount of space between the bottom border
and the content of the selector.

P { padding-bottom: 5 em; }

Padding-Left
Describes the amount of space between the left border and
the content of the selector.

P { padding-left: 15 pt; }

Padding
Shorthand for the padding-top, padding-right, padding-bottom,
and padding-left properties.

BLOCKQUOTE { padding: 2em 4em 5em 4em; }

Border-Top-Width
Used to specify the width of an element's top border.

P { border-top: 20%; } 

Border-Right-Width
Used to specify the width of an element's right border.

P { border-right: 20%; } 

Border-Bottom-Width
Used to specify the width of an element's bottom border.

P { border-bottom: 20%; }

Border-Left-Width
Used to specify the width of an element's left border.

P { border-left: 20%; }

Border-Width
Used to set the width of an element's border (either all
borders, or specifying top border, right border, bottom border,
left border).

P { border-width: 20%; }

P { border-width: 10px 5px 10px 5px; }

Border-Color
Used to set the color of an element's border.

P { border-color: #00000; }

Border-Style
Sets style of a border - none, dotted, dashed, solid, double.

P { border-style: dotted; } 

Border-Top
Sets the width, style, and color of an element's top border.

P { border-top: 10px, red, double; } 

Border-Right
Sets the width, style, and color of an element's right border.

P { border-right: 10px, red, double; } 

Border-Bottom
Sets the width, style, and color of an element's bottom border.

P { border-bottom: 10px, red, double; }

Border-Left
Sets the width, style, and color of an element's left border.

P { border-left: 10px, red, double; }

Border
Sets the width, style, and color of an element's border.

P { border: 10px, red, double; }

Width
Each block-level or replaced element can be given a width,
specified as a length, a percentage, or as auto.

P { width: 15px; }

H1 { width: 35%; }

.foo { width: auto; }

Height
Each block-level or replaced element can be given a height,
specified as a length or as auto.

P { height: 15px; }

H1 { height: 35%; }

.foo { height: auto; }

Float
Allows text to wrap around an element (left, right, none).

P { float: left; }

H1 { float: right; }

.foo { float: none; }

Clear
Specifies whether an element allows floating elements to its
sides (left, right, none).

P { clear: left; }

H1 { clear: right; }

.foo { clear: none; }