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CSS Pseudo-elements

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What are Pseudo-Elements?

A CSS pseudo-element is used to style specified parts of an element.

For example, it can be used to:

  • Style the first letter, or line, of an element
  • Insert content before, or after, the content of an element

Syntax

The syntax of pseudo-elements:

selector::pseudo-element {
  property: value;
}

The ::first-line Pseudo-element

The ::first-line pseudo-element is used to add a special style to the first line of a text.

The following example formats the first line of the text in all <p> elements:

Example 

p::first-line {
  color: #ff0000;
  font-variant: small-caps;
}
Try it Yourself »

Note: The ::first-line pseudo-element can only be applied to block-level elements.

The following properties apply to the ::first-line pseudo-element:

  • font properties
  • color properties
  • background properties
  • word-spacing
  • letter-spacing
  • text-decoration
  • vertical-align
  • text-transform
  • line-height
  • clear

Notice the double colon notation - ::first-line versus :first-line

The double colon replaced the single-colon notation for pseudo-elements in CSS3. This was an attempt from W3C to distinguish between pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements.

The single-colon syntax was used for both pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements in CSS2 and CSS1.

For backward compatibility, the single-colon syntax is acceptable for CSS2 and CSS1 pseudo-elements.

The ::first-letter Pseudo-element

The ::first-letter pseudo-element is used to add a special style to the first letter of a text.

The following example formats the first letter of the text in all <p> elements: 

Example

p::first-letter {
  color: #ff0000;
  font-size: xx-large;
}
Try it Yourself »

Note: The ::first-letter pseudo-element can only be applied to block-level elements.

The following properties apply to the ::first-letter pseudo- element: 

  • font properties
  • color properties 
  • background properties
  • margin properties
  • padding properties
  • border properties
  • text-decoration
  • vertical-align (only if "float" is "none")
  • text-transform
  • line-height
  • float
  • clear

Pseudo-elements and HTML Classes

Pseudo-elements can be combined with HTML classes: 

Example

p.intro::first-letter {
  color: #ff0000;
  font-size: 200%;
}
Try it Yourself »

The example above will display the first letter of paragraphs with class="intro", in red and in a larger size.

Multiple Pseudo-elements

Several pseudo-elements can also be combined.

In the following example, the first letter of a paragraph will be red, in an xx-large font size. The rest of the first line will be blue, and in small-caps. The rest of the paragraph will be the default font size and color:

Example

p::first-letter {
  color: #ff0000;
  font-size: xx-large;
}

p::first-line {
  color: #0000ff;
  font-variant: small-caps;
}
Try it Yourself »

CSS - The ::before Pseudo-element

The ::before pseudo-element can be used to insert some content before the content of an element.

The following example inserts an image before the content of each <h1> element:

Example

h1::before {
  content: url(smiley.gif);
}
Try it Yourself »

CSS - The ::after Pseudo-element

The ::after pseudo-element can be used to insert some content after the content of an element.

The following example inserts an image after the content of each <h1> element:

Example

h1::after {
  content: url(smiley.gif);
}
Try it Yourself »

CSS - The ::marker Pseudo-element

The ::marker pseudo-element selects the markers of list items.

The following example styles the markers of list items:

Example

::marker {
  color: red;
  font-size: 23px;
}
Try it Yourself »

CSS - The ::selection Pseudo-element

The ::selection pseudo-element matches the portion of an element that is selected by a user.

The following CSS properties can be applied to ::selection: color, background, cursor, and outline.

The following example makes the selected text red on a yellow background:

Example

::selection {
  color: red;
  background: yellow;
}
Try it Yourself »

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:

Set the background-color to red, of the first line of the paragraph.

<style>
 {
  background-color: red;
}
</style>

<body>

<p class="intro">
In my younger and more vulnerable years
my father gave me some advice that I've
been turning over in my mind ever since.
'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me,
'just remember that all the people in this world
haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
</p>

</body>

Start the Exercise

All CSS Pseudo Elements

Selector Example Example description
::after p::after Insert something after the content of each <p> element
::before p::before Insert something before the content of each <p> element
::first-letter p::first-letter Selects the first letter of each <p> element
::first-line p::first-line Selects the first line of each <p> element
::marker ::marker Selects the markers of list items
::selection p::selection Selects the portion of an element that is selected by a user

All CSS Pseudo Classes

Selector Example Example description
:active a:active Selects the active link
:checked input:checked Selects every checked <input> element
:disabled input:disabled Selects every disabled <input> element
:empty p:empty Selects every <p> element that has no children
:enabled input:enabled Selects every enabled <input> element
:first-child p:first-child Selects every <p> elements that is the first child of its parent
:first-of-type p:first-of-type Selects every <p> element that is the first <p> element of its parent
:focus input:focus Selects the <input> element that has focus
:hover a:hover Selects links on mouse over
:in-range input:in-range Selects <input> elements with a value within a specified range
:invalid input:invalid Selects all <input> elements with an invalid value
:lang(language) p:lang(it) Selects every <p> element with a lang attribute value starting with "it"
:last-child p:last-child Selects every <p> elements that is the last child of its parent
:last-of-type p:last-of-type Selects every <p> element that is the last <p> element of its parent
:link a:link Selects all unvisited links
:not(selector) :not(p) Selects every element that is not a <p> element
:nth-child(n) p:nth-child(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent
:nth-last-child(n) p:nth-last-child(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent, counting from the last child
:nth-last-of-type(n) p:nth-last-of-type(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent, counting from the last child
:nth-of-type(n) p:nth-of-type(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent
:only-of-type p:only-of-type Selects every <p> element that is the only <p> element of its parent
:only-child p:only-child Selects every <p> element that is the only child of its parent
:optional input:optional Selects <input> elements with no "required" attribute
:out-of-range input:out-of-range Selects <input> elements with a value outside a specified range
:read-only input:read-only Selects <input> elements with a "readonly" attribute specified
:read-write input:read-write Selects <input> elements with no "readonly" attribute
:required input:required Selects <input> elements with a "required" attribute specified
:root root Selects the document's root element
:target #news:target Selects the current active #news element (clicked on a URL containing that anchor name)
:valid input:valid Selects all <input> elements with a valid value
:visited a:visited Selects all visited links

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