CSS Pseudo-classes
What are Pseudo-classes?
A pseudo-class is used to define a special state
of an element.
For example, it can be used to:
Style an element when a user mouses over it
Style visited and unvisited links differently
Style an element when it gets focus
Mouse Over Me
Syntax
The syntax of pseudo-classes:
selector:pseudo-class { property: value;}
Anchor Pseudo-classes
Links can be displayed in different ways:
Example
/* unvisited link */a:link { color: #FF0000;}/* visited
link */a:visited { color: #00FF00;}/* mouse over link */
a:hover { color: #FF00FF;}/* selected link */a:active {
color: #0000FF;}
Try it Yourself »
Note: a:hover MUST come after a:link and
a:visited in the CSS definition in order to be effective! a:active MUST come after
a:hover in the CSS definition in order to be effective!
Pseudo-class names are not case-sensitive.
Pseudo-classes and HTML Classes
Pseudo-classes can be combined with HTML classes:
When you hover over the link in the example, it will change color:
Example
a.highlight:hover { color: #ff0000;}
Try it Yourself »
Hover on <div>
An example of using the :hover pseudo-class on a <div> element:
Example
div:hover { background-color: blue;}
Try it Yourself »
Simple Tooltip Hover
Hover over a <div> element to show a <p> element (like a tooltip):
Hover over me to show the <p> element.
Tada! Here I am!
Example
p { display: none;
background-color: yellow; padding: 20px;}
div:hover p { display: block;}
Try it Yourself »
CSS - The :first-child Pseudo-class
The :first-child pseudo-class matches a specified element that is the first child of another element.
Match the first <p> element
In the following example, the selector matches any <p> element that is the first child of any element:
Example
p:first-child
{
color: blue;
}
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Match the first <i> element in all <p> elements
In the following example, the selector matches the first <i> element in all <p> elements:
Example
p i:first-child
{
color: blue;
}
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Match all <i> elements in all first child <p> elements
In the following example, the selector matches all <i> elements in <p> elements that are the first child of another element:
Example
p:first-child i
{
color: blue;
}
Try it Yourself »
CSS - The :lang Pseudo-class
The :lang pseudo-class allows you to define special rules for different languages.
In the example below, :lang defines the quotation marks for <q> elements with lang="no":
Example
<html>
<head>
<style>
q:lang(no) { quotes: "~" "~";}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Some text <q lang="no">A quote in a paragraph</q>
Some text.</p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »
More Examples
Add different styles to hyperlinks
This example demonstrates how to add other styles to hyperlinks.
Use of :focus
This example demonstrates how to use the :focus pseudo-class.
Test Yourself With Exercises
Exercise:
Set the background-color to red, when you mouse over a link.
<style>
{
background-color: red;
}
</style>
<body>
<h1>This is a header.</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<a href="https://w3schools.com">This is a link.</a>
</body>
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
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
All CSS Pseudo Elements
Selector
Example
Example description
::after
p::after
Insert content after every <p> element
::before
p::before
Insert content before every <p> element
::first-letter
p::first-letter
Selects the first letter of every <p> element
::first-line
p::first-line
Selects the first line of every <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
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Reference: https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_pseudo_classes.asp