CSS background-color Property
Example
Set the background-color of different elements:
body
{
background-color: yellow;
}
h1
{
background-color: #00ff00;
}
p {
background-color: rgb(255,0,255);
}
Try it yourself »
More "Try it Yourself" examples below.
Definition and Usage
The background-color property sets the background color of an element.
The background of an element is the total size of the element, including padding and border (but not the margin).
Tip: Use a background color and a text color that makes the text easy to read.
| Default value: | transparent |
|---|---|
| Inherited: | no |
| Animatable: | yes. Read about animatable Try it |
| Version: | CSS1 |
| JavaScript syntax: | object.style.backgroundColor="#00FF00" Try it |
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.
| Property | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| background-color | 1.0 | 12.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
CSS Syntax
background-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;
Property Values
| Value | Description | Play it |
|---|---|---|
| color | Specifies the background color. Look at CSS Color Values for a complete list of possible color values. | Play it » |
| transparent | Specifies that the background color should be transparent. This is default | Play it » |
| initial | Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial | Play it » |
| inherit | Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit |
More Examples
Example
Set the background-color of a part of the text:
span.highlight {
background-color: yellow;
}
Try it yourself »
Related Pages
CSS tutorial: CSS Background
HTML DOM reference: backgroundColor property
