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How do you add a background border in HTML?

Published in CSS Borders 3 mins read

You can add a background border to an HTML element using CSS by combining the border and background-color properties.

Understanding Background Borders

A "background border" in HTML, is created by setting a border and a background color, making the border appear to be part of the background. This is a common effect used to visually highlight or separate different elements on a webpage.

How to Add a Background Border

Here's a detailed explanation of how to add a background border using CSS:

Using the border and background-color properties

  • border Property: This CSS property sets the border’s style, width, and color.
  • background-color Property: This CSS property sets the background color of the element within its border.

Example: To create a background border effect, you would typically set a background color and a border:

   <!DOCTYPE html>
   <html>
   <head>
   <style>
   .bordered-box {
     border: 1px solid black;
     background-color: red;
     padding: 10px;
   }
   </style>
   </head>
   <body>
       <div class="bordered-box">
         This div has a black border and a red background.
       </div>
   </body>
   </html>

This code will render a div with a black border and a red background color.

Practical Insights

  • Customization: You can customize both the border and background color to fit your design needs by changing the values of the border and background-color properties.
  • Border Styles: Explore different border styles like dashed, dotted, double, etc using the border style parameter of the border property. For example border: 2px dashed blue;.
  • Padding: Adding padding within the div ensures the text or content isn't pressed directly against the border; the padding property allows for better spacing.

Additional Techniques

While the basic method above is the most common way to create a background border effect, you can also use these methods:

  • Box Shadow: The box-shadow CSS property can create an outline effect that resembles a border, but it is technically a shadow, not a border.
  • Pseudo-elements: Using ::before or ::after pseudo elements to layer a border behind an element with a background-color, creating a thicker "border" effect.

Summary

To add a background border, combine the border and background-color CSS properties. The border property defines the border's appearance, while background-color sets the background color inside the border. These are the simplest method, as per the references, and are easily customizable for various styling options.

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