padding
Baseline
Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. Itâs been available across browsers since â¨July 2015â©.
The padding CSS shorthand property sets the padding area on all four sides of an element at once.
Try it
padding: 1em;
padding: 10% 0;
padding: 10px 50px 20px;
padding: 10px 50px 30px 0;
padding: 0;
<section id="default-example">
<div class="transition-all" id="example-element">
<div class="box">
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the
western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
</div>
</div>
</section>
#example-element {
border: 10px solid #ffc129;
overflow: hidden;
text-align: left;
}
.box {
border: dashed 1px;
}
An element's padding area is the space between its content and its border.
Note:
Padding creates extra space within an element. In contrast, margin creates extra space around an element.
Constituent properties
This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:
Syntax
/* Apply to all four sides */
padding: 1em;
/* top and bottom | left and right */
padding: 5% 10%;
/* top | left and right | bottom */
padding: 1em 2em 2em;
/* top | right | bottom | left */
padding: 5px 1em 0 2em;
/* Global values */
padding: inherit;
padding: initial;
padding: revert;
padding: revert-layer;
padding: unset;
The padding property may be specified using one, two, three, or four values. Each value is a <length> or a <percentage>. Negative values are invalid.
- When one value is specified, it applies the same padding to all four sides.
- When two values are specified, the first padding applies to the top and bottom, the second to the left and right.
- When three values are specified, the first padding applies to the top, the second to the right and left, the third to the bottom.
- When four values are specified, the paddings apply to the top, right, bottom, and left in that order (clockwise).
Values
<length>-
The size of the padding as a fixed value.
<percentage>-
The size of the padding as a percentage, relative to the inline size (width in a horizontal language, defined by
writing-mode) of the containing block.
Formal definition
| Initial value | as each of the properties of the shorthand: |
|---|---|
| Applies to | all elements, except table-row-group, table-header-group, table-footer-group, table-row, table-column-group and table-column. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line. |
| Inherited | no |
| Percentages | refer to the width of the containing block |
| Computed value | as each of the properties of the shorthand:
|
| Animation type | a length |
Formal syntax
padding =
<'padding-top'>{1,4}
<padding-top> =
<length-percentage [0,â]>
<length-percentage> =
<length> |
<percentage>
Examples
Setting padding with pixels
HTML
<h4>This element has moderate padding.</h4>
<h3>The padding is huge in this element!</h3>
CSS
h4 {
background-color: lime;
padding: 20px 50px;
}
h3 {
background-color: cyan;
padding: 110px 50px 50px 110px;
}
Result
Setting padding with pixels and percentages
padding: 5%; /* All sides: 5% padding */
padding: 10px; /* All sides: 10px padding */
padding: 10px 20px; /* top and bottom: 10px padding */
/* left and right: 20px padding */
padding: 10px 3% 20px; /* top: 10px padding */
/* left and right: 3% padding */
/* bottom: 20px padding */
padding: 1em 3px 30px 5px; /* top: 1em padding */
/* right: 3px padding */
/* bottom: 30px padding */
/* left: 5px padding */
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| CSS Box Model Module Level 3 # padding-shorthand |
Browser compatibility
See also
padding-top,padding-right,padding-bottom, andpadding-leftpadding-block-start,padding-block-end,padding-inline-start, andpadding-inline-endpadding-blockandpadding-inlineshorthands- Introduction to the CSS box model guide
- CSS box model module