CSS Lists

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HTML Lists and CSS List Properties
In HTML, there are two main types of lists:

unordered lists (<ul>) - the list items are marked with bullets
ordered lists (<ol>) - the list items are marked with numbers or letters
The CSS list properties allow you to:

Set different list item markers for ordered lists
Set different list item markers for unordered lists
Set an image as the list item marker
Add background colors to lists and list items
Different List Item Markers
The list-style-type property specifies the type of list item marker.

The following example shows some of the available list item markers:

Example
ul.a {
    list-style-type: circle;
}

ul.b {
    list-style-type: square;
}

ol.c {
    list-style-type: upper-roman;
}

ol.d {
    list-style-type: lower-alpha;
}
»
Note: Some of the values are for unordered lists, and some for ordered lists.

An Image as The List Item Marker
The list-style-image property specifies an image as the list item marker:

Example
ul {
    list-style-image: url('sqpurple.gif');
}
»
Position The List Item Markers
The list-style-position property specifies whether the list-item markers should appear inside or outside the content flow:

Example
ul {
    list-style-position: inside;
}
»
Remove Default Settings
The list-style-type:none property can also be used to remove the markers/bullets. Note that the list also has default margin and padding. To remove this, add margin:0 and padding:0 to <ul> or <ol>:

Example
ul {
    list-style-type: none;
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
}
»
List - Shorthand property
The list-style property is a shorthand property. It is used to set all the list properties in one declaration:

Example
ul {
    list-style: square inside url("sqpurple.gif");
}
»
When using the shorthand property, the order of the property values are:

list-style-type (if a list-style-image is specified, the value of this property will be displayed if the image for some reason cannot be displayed)
list-style-position (specifies whether the list-item markers should appear inside or outside the content flow)
list-style-image (specifies an image as the list item marker)
If one of the property values above are missing, the default value for the missing property will be inserted, if any.

Styling List With Colors
We can also style lists with colors, to make them look a little more interesting.

Anything added to the <ol> or <ul> tag, affects the entire list, while properties added to the <li> tag will affect the individual list items:

Example
ol {
    background: #ff9999;
    padding: 20px;
}

ul {
    background: #3399ff;
    padding: 20px;
}

ol li {
    background: #ffe5e5;
    padding: 5px;
    margin-left: 35px;
}

ul li {
    background: #cce5ff;
    margin: 5px;
}
Result:

Coffee
Tea
Coca Cola
Coffee
Tea
Coca Cola
»
More Examples
Customized list with a red left border
This example demonstrates how to create a list with a red left border.

Full-width bordered list
This example demonstrates how to create a bordered list without bullets.

All the different list-item markers for lists
This example demonstrates all the different list-item markers in CSS.

Test Yourself with Exercises!
Exercise 1 »  Exercise 2 »  Exercise 3 »  Exercise 4 »

All CSS List Properties
Property Description
list-style Sets all the properties for a list in one declaration
list-style-image Specifies an image as the list-item marker
list-style-position Specifies if the list-item markers should appear inside or outside the content flow
list-style-type Specifies the type of list-item marker

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