CSS Margins
Margins are used to create space around elements, outside of any defined borders.
This element has a margin of 70px.
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).
Margin - Individual Sidesβ
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 marginlength
- specifies a margin in px, pt, cm, etc.%
- specifies a margin in % of the width of the containing elementinherit
- specifies that the margin should be inherited from the parent element
Tip: Negative values are allowed.
Exampleβ
Set different margins for all four sides of a <p>
element:
p {
margin-top: 100px;
margin-bottom: 100px;
margin-right: 150px;
margin-left: 80px;
}
Outputβ
This paragraph has different margins for all four sides.
Margin - Shorthand Propertyβ
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
If the margin property has four values:β
margin: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
top
margin is 25pxright
margin is 50pxbottom
margin is 75pxleft
margin is 100px
Exampleβ
Use the margin shorthand property with four values:
p {
margin: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
}
Outputβ
This paragraph uses the margin shorthand with four values.
If the margin property has three values:β
margin: 25px 50px 75px;
top
margin is 25pxright
andleft
margins are 50pxbottom
margin is 75px
Exampleβ
Use the margin shorthand property with three values:
p {
margin: 25px 50px 75px;
}
Outputβ
This paragraph uses the margin shorthand with three values.
If the margin property has two values:β
margin: 25px 50px;
top
andbottom
margins are 25pxright
andleft
margins are 50px
Exampleβ
Use the margin shorthand property with two values:
p {
margin: 25px 50px;
}
Outputβ
This paragraph uses the margin shorthand with two values.
If the margin property has one value:β
margin: 25px;
- all four margins are 25px
Exampleβ
Use the margin shorthand property with one value:
p {
margin: 25px;
}
Outputβ
This paragraph uses the margin shorthand with one value.
The auto
Valueβ
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.
Exampleβ
Use margin: auto
:
div {
width: 300px;
margin: auto;
border: 1px solid red;
}
Outputβ
This div is centered horizontally with margin: auto
.
The inherit
Valueβ
This example lets the left margin of the <p class="ex1">
element be inherited from the parent element (<div>
):
Exampleβ
Use of the inherit
value:
div {
border: 1px solid red;
margin-left: 100px;
}
p.ex1 {
margin-left: inherit;
}
Outputβ
This paragraph inherits its left margin from the parent div.
All CSS Margin Propertiesβ
Property | Description |
---|---|
margin | A shorthand property for setting all the margin properties in one declaration |
margin-bottom | Sets the bottom margin of an element |
margin-left | Sets the left margin of an element |
margin-right | Sets the right margin of an element |
margin-top | Sets the top margin of an element |