CSS: Cascading Style Sheets
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) controls how HTML is presented: colors, spacing, typography, layout, borders, backgrounds, responsive behavior and much more. HTML provides structure and meaning; CSS provides presentation.
p {
color: #243b53;
font-size: 1rem;
line-height: 1.6;
}How CSS works Top ↑
A CSS rule normally contains a selector and one or more declarations. The selector chooses elements; each declaration contains a property and value.
.notice {
background-color: #f8f9fa;
padding: 1rem;
border: 1px solid #ced4da;
}CSS tutorials in this section Top ↑
Inline, internal and external styles, plus how conflicts are actually resolved. Advantages of CSS
Maintainability, reuse, responsive design and separation of concerns. Fonts with CSS
Font families, size, weight, style and line height. CSS borders
Style, width, color, shorthand and rounded corners. Body backgrounds
Background color, image, position, repeat and attachment. Heading styles
Style H1-H6 while keeping the correct HTML heading hierarchy. Link states
Style normal, visited, hover, focus and active states. Hover link examples
Build clear hover/focus effects without changing link meaning. Text decoration
Underline, overline, line-through, style and color. Cursor styles
Use standard cursor keywords for interactive controls.
Font & background colour demo Button style demos CSS font generator
Why “cascading” matters Top ↑
When several declarations could set the same property, the browser applies the CSS cascade. Origin, importance, cascade layers, specificity and source order can all affect the winning value. It is more accurate than simply saying one stylesheet “always has higher priority” than another.
Good CSS practice Top ↑
- Use semantic HTML first, then CSS for appearance.
- Prefer reusable classes over repeated inline styles.
- Keep selectors as simple as practical.
- Design responsive layouts instead of fixed desktop-only dimensions.
- Do not remove focus indicators or other cues users need to operate a page.
Frequently Asked Questions Top ↑
Is CSS part of HTML?
No. CSS is a separate language used to style HTML and other markup.
Should I use inline CSS?
It is valid, but reusable styles are usually easier to maintain in a stylesheet.
Does an external stylesheet always have the lowest priority?
No. The winning declaration depends on the full cascade, including origin, importance, layers, specificity and source order.
Can CSS change HTML meaning?
CSS changes presentation. Use HTML elements and attributes to provide document meaning and structure.
Subhendu Mohapatra
Author & Instructor at plus2net
I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.
