CSS

CSS padding controls the space inside an element, between the content and the border. This guide covers all padding properties, including shorthand, percentage-based padding, and advanced techniques.

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1️⃣ What is CSS Padding?

Padding adds space inside an element, increasing the distance between its content and the border.

Example:

div {
    padding: 20px;
}

📌 This applies 20px padding on all sides (top, right, bottom, left).

✅ Shorthand Syntax:

padding: [top] [right] [bottom] [left];

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2️⃣ CSS Padding for Each Side

You can set padding for specific sides using:

• padding-top
• padding-right
• padding-bottom
• padding-left

Example:

div {
    padding-top: 10px;
    padding-right: 20px;
    padding-bottom: 30px;
    padding-left: 40px;
}

🔹 Shorthand Alternative:

padding: 10px 20px 30px 40px; /* Top, Right, Bottom, Left */

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3️⃣ CSS Padding Shorthand

The padding property can take 1, 2, 3, or 4 values:

Syntax	Effect
padding: 10px;	All sides = 10px
padding: 10px 20px;	Top & Bottom = 10px, Left & Right = 20px
padding: 10px 20px 30px;	Top = 10px, Left & Right = 20px, Bottom = 30px
padding: 10px 20px 30px 40px;	Top = 10px, Right = 20px, Bottom = 30px, Left = 40px

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4️⃣ Percentage-Based Padding

Padding can be defined in percentages, based on the element’s width.

Example:

div {
    width: 200px;
    padding: 10%; /* 10% of 200px = 20px padding */
}

📌 Even vertical padding (padding-top and padding-bottom) is based on width, not height.

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5️⃣ Padding with inherit, initial, unset

Property	Effect
padding: inherit;	Inherits padding from the parent element
padding: initial;	Resets to default (0)
padding: unset;	Acts as inherit if parent has padding, otherwise initial

Example:

div {
    padding: inherit;
}

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6️⃣ CSS Padding and box-sizing

By default, padding adds to the total size of an element.

Example:

div {
    width: 200px;
    padding: 20px;
}

📌 Total width = 200px + 20px (left) + 20px (right) = 240px

✅ To prevent this, use box-sizing: border-box;, which keeps the width constant.

div {
    width: 200px;
    padding: 20px;
    box-sizing: border-box; /* Keeps width fixed */
}

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7️⃣ Negative Padding? ❌

CSS does not support negative padding (unlike margins).

📌 If you need an element to shrink, use margin: -value; instead.

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8️⃣ CSS Padding in Flexbox

Padding works normally inside Flexbox layouts, but can affect spacing differently.

✅ Adding space inside flex items:

.flex-item {
    padding: 20px;
}

✅ Ensuring padding does not increase width:

.flex-item {
    padding: 20px;
    box-sizing: border-box;
}

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9️⃣ CSS Padding vs Margin

Property	Effect
padding	Space inside an element
margin	Space outside an element

Example:

div {
    padding: 20px; /* Space inside */
    margin: 10px;  /* Space outside */
}

🛑 Important: Padding increases element size, while margin only pushes elements apart.

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🔟 CSS Padding Cheat Sheet

Property	Effect
padding: 20px;	Same padding on all sides
padding: 10px 20px;	Top & Bottom = 10px, Left & Right = 20px
padding: inherit;	Takes padding from parent
padding: initial;	Resets padding to default (0)
padding: 10%;	10% of the element’s width

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🎯 Conclusion

✅ Padding adds space inside an element
✅ padding: auto; does not exist
✅ Use box-sizing: border-box; to prevent size increase
✅ Percentage padding is based on width
✅ No negative padding in CSS