Dan Cranney

Tips and Tricks: CSS Pseudo Class Selectors and Pseudo Elements

Tired of writing JavaScript for simple UI toggles? Discover how to build them with pure CSS using powerful pseudo-classes like `:checked` and `:has()`.

Tips and Tricks: CSS Pseudo Class Selectors and Pseudo Elements
#1about 1 minute

Differentiating between CSS pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements

Learn the key difference between pseudo-classes, which style elements in specific states, and pseudo-elements, which style specific parts of an element.

#2about 1 minute

Simplify complex CSS selectors with the :is pseudo-class

Use the :is() pseudo-class to group multiple selectors and apply shared styles in a more compact and readable way.

#3about 1 minute

Style elements based on a checkbox state with :checked

Update the styles of sibling elements based on the state of a checkbox input using the :checked pseudo-class, without any JavaScript.

#4about 1 minute

Create a pure CSS tooltip with :hover and sibling selectors

Combine the :hover pseudo-class with the next sibling selector (+) to show and hide a tooltip element on button hover.

#5about 1 minute

Conditionally style parent elements using the :has pseudo-class

Apply styles to a parent element only when it contains specific child elements by using the :has() pseudo-class selector.

#6about 1 minute

Insert placeholder content into empty elements with CSS

Use the :empty pseudo-class combined with the ::before pseudo-element to dynamically insert placeholder text into empty divs.

#7about 2 minutes

Create a skewed highlight effect with the ::before pseudo-element

Implement a dynamic, skewed background highlight for text by inserting and styling content with the ::before pseudo-element.

#8about 1 minute

Create newspaper-style text with ::first-line and ::first-letter

Combine the ::first-line and ::first-letter pseudo-elements to apply unique typographic styles for a classic drop cap and introductory line effect.

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