Styling HTML with CSS
CSS was introduced together with HTML 4, to provide a better way to style HTML elements.CSS can be added to HTML in the following ways:
- Inline - using the style attribute in HTML elements
- Internal - using the <style> element in the <head> section
- External - using an external CSS file
However, in this HTML tutorial we will introduce you to CSS using the style attribute. This is done to simplify the examples. It also makes it easier for you to edit the code and try it yourself.
Inline Styles
An inline style can be used if a unique style is to be applied to one single occurrence of an element.To use inline styles, use the style attribute in the relevant tag. The style attribute can contain any CSS property. The example below shows how to change the text color and the left margin of a paragraph:
<p style="color:blue;margin-left:20px;">This is a paragraph.</p>
HTML Style Example - Background Color
The background-color property defines the background color for an element:Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body style="background-color:yellow;">
<h2 style="background-color:red;">This is a heading</h2>
<p style="background-color:green;">This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<body style="background-color:yellow;">
<h2 style="background-color:red;">This is a heading</h2>
<p style="background-color:green;">This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
HTML Style Example - Font, Color and Size
The font-family, color, and font-size properties defines the font, color, and size of the text in an element:Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1 style="font-family:verdana;">A heading</h1>
<p style="font-family:arial;color:red;font-size:20px;">A paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<body>
<h1 style="font-family:verdana;">A heading</h1>
<p style="font-family:arial;color:red;font-size:20px;">A paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
HTML Style Example - Text Alignment
The text-align property specifies the horizontal alignment of text in an element:Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1 style="text-align:center;">Center-aligned heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<body>
<h1 style="text-align:center;">Center-aligned heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Internal Style Sheet
An internal style sheet can be used if one single document has a unique style. Internal styles are defined in the <head> section of an HTML page, by using the <style> tag, like this:
<head>
<style type="text/css">
body {background-color:yellow;}
p {color:blue;}
</style>
</head>
<style type="text/css">
body {background-color:yellow;}
p {color:blue;}
</style>
</head>
External Style Sheet
An external style sheet is ideal when the style is applied to many pages. With an external style sheet, you can change the look of an entire Web site by changing one file. Each page must link to the style sheet using the <link> tag. The <link> tag goes inside the <head> section:
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css">
</head>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css">
</head>
