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CSS Styling Lists

In HTML, there are two main types of lists

HTML Lists and CSS List Properties

In HTML, there are two main types of lists:

  • unordered lists (<ul>) - the list items are marked with bullets
  • ordered lists (<ol>) - the list items are marked with numbers or letters

    • The CSS list properties allow you to:

  • Set different list item markers for ordered lists
  • Set different list item markers for unordered lists
  • Set an image as the list item marker
  • Add background colors to lists and list items

    • Different List Item Markers

    The list-style-type property specifies the type of list item marker.

    The following example shows some of the available list item markers:

    Example

    ul.a {
      list-style-type: circle;
    }

    ul.b {
      list-style-type: square;
    }

    ol.c {
      list-style-type: upper-roman;
    }

    ol.d {
      list-style-type: lower-alpha;
    }

    Note: Some of the values are for unordered lists, and some for ordered lists.

    An Image as The List Item Marker

    The list-style-image property specifies an image as the list item marker:

    Example

    ul {
      list-style-image: url('sqpurple.gif');
    }

    Position The List Item Markers

    The list-style-position property specifies the position of the list-item markers (bullet points).

    "list-style-position: outside;" means that the bullet points will be outside the list item. The start of each line of a list item will be aligned vertically. This is default:

  • Coffee - A brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans...
  • Tea
  • Coca-cola

    • "list-style-position: inside;" means that the bullet points will be inside the list item. As it is part of the list item, it will be part of the text and push the text at the start:

  • Coffee - A brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans...
  • Tea
  • Coca-cola

    • Example

    ul.a {
      list-style-position: outside;
    }

    ul.b {
      list-style-position: inside;
    }

    Remove Default Settings

    The list-style-type:none property can also be used to remove the markers/bullets. Note that the list also has default margin and padding. To remove this, add margin:0 and padding:0 to <ul> or <ol>:

    Example

    ul {
      list-style-type: none;
      margin: 0;
      padding: 0;
    }

    List - Shorthand property

    The list-style property is a shorthand property. It is used to set all the list properties in one declaration:

    Example

    ul {
      list-style: square inside url("sqpurple.gif");
    }

    When using the shorthand property, the order of the property values are:

  • list-style-type (if a list-style-image is specified, the value of this property will be displayed if the image for some reason cannot be displayed)
  • list-style-position (specifies whether the list-item markers should appear inside or outside the content flow)
  • list-style-image (specifies an image as the list item marker)

    • If one of the property values above is missing, the default value for the missing property will be inserted, if any.

    Styling List With Colors

    We can also style lists with colors, to make them look a little more interesting.

    Anything added to the <ol> or <ul> tag, affects the entire list, while properties added to the <li> tag will affect the individual list items:

    Example

    ol {
      background: #ff9999;
      padding: 20px;
    }

    ul {
      background: #3399ff;
      padding: 20px;
    }

    ol li {
      background: #ffe5e5;
      color: darkred;
      padding: 5px;
      margin-left: 35px;
    }

    ul li {
      background: #cce5ff;
      color: darkblue;
      margin: 5px;
    }

    Result:

    1. Coffee
    2. Tea
    3. Coca Cola
    • Coffee
    • Tea
    • Coca Cola

    More Examples

    Customized list with a red left border
    This example demonstrates how to create a list with a red left border.
    Full-width bordered list
    This example demonstrates how to create a bordered list without bullets.
    All the different list-item markers for lists
    This example demonstrates all the different list-item markers in CSS.

    Test Yourself With Exercises

    Exercise:

    Set the list style for unordered lists to "square".

    <style>
ul {
  : ;
}
</style>

<body>
<ul>
  <li>Coffee</li>
  <li>Tea</li>
  <li>Coca Cola</li>
</ul>
</body>

    Start the Exercise

    All CSS List Properties

    Property Description
    list-style Sets all the properties for a list in one declaration
    list-style-image Specifies an image as the list-item marker
    list-style-position Specifies the position of the list-item markers (bullet points)
    list-style-type Specifies the type of list-item marker

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