CSS Padding

Padding

The padding clears an area around the content (inside the border) of an element. The padding is affected by the background color of the element.
The top, right, bottom, and left padding can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand padding property can also be used, to change all paddings at once.

Possible Values

Value	Description
length	Defines a fixed padding (in pixels, pt, em, etc.)
%	Defines a padding in % of the containing element

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Padding - Individual sides

In CSS, it is possible to specify different padding for different sides:

Example

padding-top:25px;
padding-bottom:25px;
padding-right:50px;
padding-left:50px;

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Padding - Shorthand property

To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the padding properties in one property. This is called a shorthand property.
The shorthand property for all the padding properties is "padding":

Example

padding:25px 50px;

The padding property can have from one to four values.

• padding:25px 50px 75px 100px;
  • top padding is 25px
  • right padding is 50px
  • bottom padding is 75px
  • left padding is 100px
  
  
• padding:25px 50px 75px;
  • top padding is 25px
  • right and left paddings are 50px
  • bottom padding is 75px
  
  
• padding:25px 50px;
  • top and bottom paddings are 25px
  • right and left paddings are 50px
  
  
• padding:25px;
  • all four paddings are 25px

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All CSS Padding Properties

CSS Margin

Margin

The margin clears an area around an element (outside the border). The margin does not have a background color, and is completely transparent.
The top, right, bottom, and left margin can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand margin property can also be used, to change all margins at once.

Possible Values

Value	Description
auto	The browser calculates a margin
length	Specifies a margin in px, pt, cm, etc. Default value is 0px
%	Specifies a margin in percent of the width of the containing element
inherit	Specifies that the margin should be inherited from the parent element

 It is possible to use negative values, to overlap content.

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Margin - Individual sides

In CSS, it is possible to specify different margins for different sides:

Example

margin-top:100px;
margin-bottom:100px;
margin-right:50px;
margin-left:50px;

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Margin - Shorthand property

To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the margin properties in one property. This is called a shorthand property.
The shorthand property for all the margin properties is "margin":

Example

margin:100px 50px;

The margin property can have from one to four values.

• margin:25px 50px 75px 100px;
  • top margin is 25px
  • right margin is 50px
  • bottom margin is 75px
  • left margin is 100px
  
  
• margin:25px 50px 75px;
  • top margin is 25px
  • right and left margins are 50px
  • bottom margin is 75px
  
  
• margin:25px 50px;
  • top and bottom margins are 25px
  • right and left margins are 50px
  
  
• margin:25px;
  • all four margins are 25px

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All CSS Margin Properties

CSS Box Model

The CSS Box Model

All HTML elements can be considered as boxes. In CSS, the term "box model" is used when talking about design and layout.
The CSS box model is essentially a box that wraps around HTML elements, and it consists of: margins, borders, padding, and the actual content.
The box model allows us to place a border around elements and space elements in relation to other elements.
The image below illustrates the box model:

Explanation of the different parts:

• Margin - Clears an area around the border. The margin does not have a background color, it is completely transparent
• Border - A border that goes around the padding and content. The border is affected by the background color of the box
• Padding - Clears an area around the content. The padding is affected by the background color of the box
• Content - The content of the box, where text and images appear

In order to set the width and height of an element correctly in all browsers, you need to know how the box model works.

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Width and Height of an Element

Important: When you set the width and height properties of an element with CSS, you just set the width and height of the content area. To calculate the full size of an element, you must also add the padding, borders and margins.
The total width of the element in the example below is 300px:

width:250px;
padding:10px;
border:5px solid gray;
margin:10px;

Let's do the math:
250px (width)
+ 20px (left and right padding)
+ 10px (left and right border)
+ 20px (left and right margin)
= 300px
Assume that you had only 250px of space. Let's make an element with a total width of 250px:

Example

width:220px;
padding:10px;
border:5px solid gray;
margin:0px;

The total width of an element should be calculated like this:
Total element width = width + left padding + right padding + left border + right border + left margin + right margin
The total height of an element should be calculated like this:
Total element height = height + top padding + bottom padding + top border + bottom border + top margin + bottom margin

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Browsers Compatibility Issue

IE8 and earlier versions of IE, included padding and border in the width property.
To fix this problem, add a <!DOCTYPE html> to the HTML page.