The margin
CSS property sets the margin area on all four sides of an element. It is a shorthand for margin-top
, margin-right
, margin-bottom
, and margin-left
.
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The top and bottom margins have no effect on non-replaced inline elements, such as <span>
or <code>
.
Note: Margins create extra space around an element. In contrast, padding
creates extra space within an element.
Syntax
/* Apply to all four sides */ margin: 1em; margin: -3px; /* vertical | horizontal */ margin: 5% auto; /* top | horizontal | bottom */ margin: 1em auto 2em; /* top | right | bottom | left */ margin: 2px 1em 0 auto; /* Global values */ margin: inherit; margin: initial; margin: unset;
The margin
property may be specified using one, two, three, or four values. Each value is a <length>
, a <percentage>
, or the keyword auto
. Negative values draw the element closer to its neighbors than it would be by default.
- When one value is specified, it applies the same margin to all four sides.
- When two values are specified, the first margin applies to the top and bottom, the second to the left and right.
- When three values are specified, the first margin applies to the top, the second to the right and left, the third to the bottom.
- When four values are specified, the margins apply to the top, right, bottom, and left in that order (clockwise).
Values
<length>
- The size of the margin as a fixed value.
<percentage>
- The size of the margin as a percentage, relative to the width of the containing block.
auto
- The browser selects a suitable margin to use. For example, in certain cases this value can be used to center an element.
Formal syntax
[ <length> | <percentage> | auto ]{1,4}
Examples
Simple example
HTML
<div class="center">This element is centered.</div> <div class="outside">This element is positioned outside of its container.</div>
CSS
.center { margin: auto; background: lime; width: 66%; } .outside { margin: 3rem 0 0 -3rem; background: cyan; width: 66%; }
More examples
margin: 5%; /* All sides: 5% margin */ margin: 10px; /* All sides: 10px margin */ margin: 1.6em 20px; /* top and bottom: 1.6em margin */ /* left and right: 20px margin */ margin: 10px 3% -1em; /* top: 10px margin */ /* left and right: 3% margin */ /* bottom: -1em margin */ margin: 10px 3px 30px 5px; /* top: 10px margin */ /* right: 3px margin */ /* bottom: 30px margin */ /* left: 5px margin */ margin: 2em auto; /* top and bottom: 2em margin */ /* Box is horizontally centered */ margin: auto; /* top and bottom: 0 margin */ /* Box is horizontally centered */
Notes
Horizontal centering
To center something horizontally in modern browsers, you can use display
: flex;
justify-content
: center;
.
However, in older browsers like IE8-9 that do not support Flexible Box Layout, these are not available. In order to center an element inside its parent, use margin: 0 auto;
.
Margin collapsing
Elements' top and bottom margins are sometimes collapsed into a single margin that is equal to the larger of the two margins. See Mastering margin collapsing for more information.
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
CSS Basic Box Model The definition of 'margin' in that specification. |
Working Draft | No significant change. |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'margin' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Removes the effect of top and bottom margins on inline elements. |
CSS Level 1 The definition of 'margin' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Initial value | as each of the properties of the shorthand:
|
---|---|
Applies to | all elements, except elements with table display types other than table-caption , table and inline-table . It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line . |
Inherited | no |
Percentages | refer to the width of the containing block |
Computed value | as each of the properties of the shorthand:
|
Animation type | a length |
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
margin | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support 3 | Opera Full support 3.5 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 1 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 10.1 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
auto | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge
Full support
12
| Firefox Full support 1 | IE
Full support
6
| Opera Full support 3.5 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 14 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- See implementation notes.
- See implementation notes.
See also
- Introduction to the CSS basic box model
- Margin collapsing
margin-top
,margin-right
,margin-bottom
, andmargin-left
- The mapped logical properties:
margin-block-start
,margin-block-end
,margin-inline-start
, andmargin-inline-end
and the shorthandsmargin-block
andmargin-inline