Select Page

Combining a class and pseudo-class


Can you  combine class and pseudo-class to style elements? Learn how to precisely target and style elements with advanced pseudo-classes in CSS!


nanadwumor

July 29, 2024

combining class and pseudo-class in css styling for beginners, intermediate and advanced


  • Combining classes and pseudo-classes styles elements based on both their type and class, such as img.plant:only-of-type.
  • The :only-of-type pseudo-class targets elements that are the sole instance of their type among siblings, ignoring classes.
  • The :first-child pseudo-class styles the first child of a parent element, useful for lists and headings.
  • The :last-child pseudo-class styles the last child of a parent element, allowing for targeted styling of the final item in a list.

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES


identifiers in CSS
identifiers in CSS

The secret power of CSS identifiers, the tiny names that give you full control over your styles! Identifiers are custom CSS names you create. CSS treats similar names with different cases as unique. Used in list counters like...

Images in CSS
Images in CSS

Did you know CSS can create images without using a single file? CSS uses URLs to display images. [crayon-68e63c86465a8613958383-i/] serves images by device quality. Gradients generate images with colors only. Useful for backgrounds, designs, and...

inherit, initial, unset in CSS
inherit, initial, unset in CSS

Tiny CSS keywords can reset, copy, or undo styles with just one word. Keywords control styles without numbers inherit copies, initial resets, unset smart reset all applies to most properties, safer to limit revert returns to browser/user defaults...


Just as two classes can be chained together, a class and a Pseudo-class can also be chained or combined to select and style an element. For example, consider this:

The rule reads that, look for <img> element that’s the only element of its type and also has the class called *plant* and erect a 5px, solid, red border around it. Consider the html below

only-of-type targets only elements

The pseudo-class: only-of-type refers to elements only. For example, p:only-of-type means elements that are only of type <p>. This implies, that the pseudo-class doesn’t affect any attribute but element. For example, consider a modified form of the above HTML

We have two <img> elements. The first <img> element has a class called “plant”. The second <img> element has no class. 

 Because there are two <img> elements, using the : only-of-type pseudo-class to target <img> will not work because none of the two is the only type. However, the first <img> has a class called plant while the second <img> has no class. You may think adding the class attribute will add specificity in order to select the <img> type with a class. That’s,

Unfortunately, here, none of the <img> will be selected. The reason is that the : only-of-type targets only elements, and not classes or any others. 

The rule reads that, find the <img> element which is of the only type of <img> among its siblings, and has a class called plant. Of course, because the siblings compromise two <img> , this rule cannot select either of the <img> elements.

The first child pseudo-class (:first-child)

The first child of a parent element can be styled using the :first-child pseudo-class without the need to manually figure out the first child among its siblings and target it with a defined class. 

For example, when styling lists, such as <ul> or <ol>, you might want to apply special styling to the first item in the list. You could make the first item stand out by giving it a different background color or font style. 

 Consider the below markup :

If we want to style the first list item, we can do so as in :

The first heading of each section could be styled as:

The last child pseudo-class (:last-child)

The last child of a parent element can be styled using the :last-child pseudo-class. Consider the below markup :

If we want to style the last <li> item, we can do so using :

The rule reads that, look for the last child of <li> element and make the font weight bold.