Pseudo-Class and Pseudo-Element Selectors
Introduction to Pseudo-Class and Pseudo-Element Selectors
Pseudo-class and pseudo-element selectors are an integral part of CSS, providing dynamic styling to various aspects of our documents. Unlike other CSS selectors, pseudo-class and pseudo-element selectors allow us to style elements based on their state, or the part of the element itself.
What are Pseudo-Class Selectors?
Pseudo-class selectors are used to select elements that are in a specific state. For example, a link that is being hovered over or a checkbox that is checked. Pseudo-classes are specified using a colon (:
) followed by the pseudo-class name. Here are a few examples:
a:hover {
color: red;
}
input:checked {
background-color: blue;
}
In the first example, the :hover
pseudo-class is used to change the color of a link when it is hovered over. In the second example, the :checked
pseudo-class is used to change the background color of a checked input element.
What are Pseudo-Element Selectors?
Pseudo-element selectors, on the other hand, are used to select and style a part of an element. For example, you can select the first letter or line of a paragraph, before or after an element etc. Pseudo-elements are specified using two colons (::
) followed by the pseudo-element name. Here's an example:
p::first-letter {
font-size: 2em;
color: green;
}
In this example, the ::first-letter
pseudo-element is used to change the font size and color of the first letter of every paragraph.
Common Pseudo-Class Selectors
Here are some commonly used pseudo-class selectors:
:hover
- Selects an element when it is being hovered over.:focus
- Selects an element when it has focus.:active
- Selects an element during the activation of the element.:visited
- Selects all links that the user has visited.:checked
- Selects every checked<input>
element.:first-child
- Selects every element that is the first child of its parent.
Common Pseudo-Element Selectors
Here are some commonly used pseudo-element selectors:
::before
- Inserts something before the content of each selected element.::after
- Inserts something after the content of each selected element.::first-letter
- Selects the first letter of each selected element.::first-line
- Selects the first line of each selected element.
Conclusion
Pseudo-class and pseudo-element selectors offer a powerful way to select and style elements based on their state or a part of them. They provide dynamic styling capabilities and can greatly enhance the user interaction and experience of a website. Remember to use a single colon for pseudo-classes and double colons for pseudo-elements. Happy styling!