CSS Padding

CSS Padding

The CSS padding properties define the white space between the element content and the element border.

The padding clears an area around the content (inside the border) of an element.

	Note: The padding is affected by the background color of the element!

With CSS, you have full control over the padding. There are CSS properties for setting the padding for each side of an element (top, right, bottom, and left).

Padding - Individual Sides

CSS has properties for specifying the padding for each side of an element:

• padding-top
• padding-right
• padding-bottom
• padding-left

All the padding properties can have the following values:

• length - specifies a padding in px, pt, cm, etc.
• % - specifies a padding in % of the width of the containing element
• inherit - specifies that the padding should be inherited from the parent element

The following example sets different padding for all four sides of a <p> element: 

Padding - Shorthand Property

To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the padding properties in one property.

The padding property is a shorthand property for the following individual padding properties:

• padding-top
• padding-right
• padding-bottom
• padding-left

So, here is how it works:

If the padding property has four values:

• padding: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
  • top padding is 25px
  • right padding is 50px
  • bottom padding is 75px
  • left padding is 100px

If the padding property has three values:

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

If the padding property has two values:

• padding: 25px 50px;
  • top and bottom paddings are 25px
  • right and left paddings are 50px

If the padding property has one value:

• padding: 25px;
  • all four paddings are 25px

More Examples

All the padding properties in one declaration
This example demonstrates a shorthand property for setting all of the padding properties in one declaration, can have from one to four values.

Set the left padding
This example demonstrates how to set the left padding of a <p> element.

Set the right padding
This example demonstrates how to set the right padding of a <p> element.

Set the top padding
This example demonstrates how to set the top padding of a <p> element.

Set the bottom padding
This example demonstrates how to set the bottom padding of a <p> element.

Test Yourself with Exercises!

Exercise 1 »  Exercise 2 »  Exercise 3 »

All CSS Padding Properties