W3cubDocs

/CSS

padding

The padding CSS property sets the padding area on all four sides of an element. It is a shorthand for padding-top, padding-right, padding-bottom, and padding-left.

An element's padding area is the space between its content and its border.

Note: Padding creates extra space within an element. In contrast, margin creates extra space around an element.

Syntax

/* Apply to all four sides */
padding: 1em;

/* vertical | horizontal */
padding: 5% 10%;

/* top | horizontal | bottom */
padding: 1em 2em 2em;

/* top | right | bottom | left */
padding: 5px 1em 0 2em;

/* Global values */
padding: inherit;
padding: initial;
padding: unset;

The padding property may be specified using one, two, three, or four values. Each value is a <length> or a <percentage>. Negative values are invalid.

  • When one value is specified, it applies the same padding to all four sides.
  • When two values are specified, the first padding applies to the top and bottom, the second to the left and right.
  • When three values are specified, the first padding applies to the top, the second to the left and right, the third to the bottom.
  • When four values are specified, the paddings apply to the top, right, bottom, and left in that order (clockwise).

Values

<length>
The size of the padding as a fixed value.
<percentage>
The size of the padding as a percentage, relative to the width of the containing block.

Formal syntax

[ <length> | <percentage> ]{1,4}

Examples

Simple example

HTML

<h4>This element has moderate padding.</h4>
<h3>The padding is huge in this element!</h3>

CSS

h4 {
  background-color: lime;
  padding: 20px 50px;
}

h3 {
  background-color: cyan;
  padding: 110px 50px 50px 110px;
}

More examples

padding: 5%;                /* All sides: 5% padding */

padding: 10px;              /* All sides: 10px padding */

padding: 10px 20px;         /* top and bottom: 10px padding */
                            /* left and right: 20px padding */

padding: 10px 3% 20px;      /* top:            10px padding */
                            /* left and right: 3% padding   */
                            /* bottom:         20px padding */

padding: 1em 3px 30px 5px;  /* top:    1em padding  */
                            /* right:  3px padding  */
                            /* bottom: 30px padding */
                            /* left:   5px padding  */ 

Specifications

Initial value as each of the properties of the shorthand:
Applies to all elements, except table-row-group, table-header-group, table-footer-group, table-row, table-column-group and table-column. It also applies to ::first-letter.
Inherited no
Percentages refer to the width of the containing block
Media visual
Computed value as each of the properties of the shorthand:
  • padding-bottom: the percentage as specified or the absolute length
  • padding-left: the percentage as specified or the absolute length
  • padding-right: the percentage as specified or the absolute length
  • padding-top: the percentage as specified or the absolute length
Animation type a length
Canonical order the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 1 12 1 4 3.5 1
Mobile
Android webview Chrome for Android Edge Mobile Firefox for Android Opera for Android iOS Safari Samsung Internet
Basic support Yes Yes Yes 4 Yes Yes Yes

See also

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/padding