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C # tutorial
The look of an HTML form can be greatly improved with CSS
Use the width property to determine the width of the input field:
First Name
input
{
width: 100%;
}
The example above applies to all <input> elements. If you only want to style a specific input type, you can use attribute selectors:
input[type=text] - will only select text fieldsinput[type=password] - will only select password fieldsinput[type=number] - will only select number fieldsUse the padding property to add space inside the text field.
margin, to add more space
outside of them:
First Name
Last Name
input[type=text]
{
width: 100%;
padding: 12px 20px;
margin: 8px 0;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
Note that we have set the box-sizing property to
border-box. This makes sure that the padding and eventually borders are included in the
total width and height of the elements.
Read more about the box-sizing property in our CSS Box Sizing chapter.
Use the border property to change the border size and color, and
use the border-radius property to add rounded corners:
First Name
input[type=text]
{
border: 2px solid red;
border-radius: 4px;
}
If you only want a bottom border, use the border-bottom property:
First Name
input[type=text]
{
border: none;
border-bottom: 2px solid red;
}
Use the background-color property to add a background color to the input, and
the color property to change the text color:
input[type=text]
{
background-color: #3CBC8D;
color: white;
}
By default, some browsers will add a blue outline around the input when it gets
focus (clicked on). You can remove this behavior by adding outline: none; to the input.
Use the :focus selector to do something with the input field when it gets focus:
input[type=text]:focus
{
background-color: lightblue;
}
input[type=text]:focus
{
border: 3px solid #555;
}
If you want an icon inside the input, use the background-image property and
position it with the background-position property. Also notice that we
add a
large left padding to reserve the space of the icon:
input[type=text]
{
background-color: white;
background-image: url('searchicon.png');
background-position: 10px 10px;
background-repeat:
no-repeat;
padding-left: 40px;
}
In this example we use the CSS transition property to animate
the width of the search input when it gets focus. You will learn more about the
transition property later, in our CSS Transitions chapter.
input[type=text] {
transition: width 0.4s ease-in-out;
}
input[type=text]:focus {
width: 100%;
}
resize property to prevent textareas from being resized (disable the "grabber" in the bottom right corner):
Some text...
textarea
{
width: 100%;
height: 150px;
padding: 12px 20px;
box-sizing: border-box;
border: 2px solid #ccc;
border-radius: 4px;
background-color: #f8f8f8;
resize: none;
}
select
{
width: 100%;
padding: 16px 20px;
border: none;
border-radius: 4px;
background-color: #f1f1f1;
}
input[type=button], input[type=submit], input[type=reset]
{
background-color: #04AA6D;
border:
none;
color: white;
padding:
16px 32px;
text-decoration: none;
margin: 4px 2px;
cursor: pointer;
}
/* Tip: use width: 100% for full-width buttons */
For more information about how to style buttons with CSS, read our CSS Buttons Tutorial.
Resize the browser window to see the effect. When the screen is less than 600px wide, make the two columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other.
Advanced: The following example use media queries to create a responsive form. You will learn more about this in a later chapter.
Try it Yourself »