A CSS tag, more accurately referred to as a tag selector, is a fundamental part of CSS that enables you to style specific HTML elements.
How CSS Tag Selectors Work
CSS tag selectors work by targeting and styling HTML elements based on their tag names, as the provided reference states. Instead of targeting elements by specific id or class attributes, tag selectors target all instances of a specific HTML tag.
Examples of CSS Tag Selectors
p: Styles all paragraph<p>elements.h1: Styles all level-one heading<h1>elements.a: Styles all anchor<a>elements, often used for links.img: Styles all image<img>elements.div: Styles all division<div>elements.
Practical Use and Benefits
Using tag selectors is a quick and straightforward way to apply consistent styling to common HTML elements across your website. Here are some of the benefits:
- Efficiency: One CSS rule can style multiple identical tags, improving efficiency.
- Simplicity: Easy to understand and apply, making it ideal for beginners.
- Consistency: Ensures uniform styling for elements like paragraphs and headings.
- Overrides: Can be used as part of more specific CSS rules in a cascade by using a specificity concept.
Example in Code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
p {
color: blue;
font-size: 16px;
}
h2 {
color: green;
font-family: sans-serif;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h2>This is a Heading</h2>
<p>This is a paragraph of text.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>In this example:
- All
<p>elements will appear in blue with a font size of 16px. - All
<h2>elements will be green with a sans-serif font.
Important Note
It's important to remember that while tag selectors are useful, they are not always the best choice for complex styling. In larger projects, it is often more useful to use class or ID selectors, in order to target specific elements more precisely.
