https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_inline-block.asp
The display: inline-block Value
Compared to display: inline
, the major difference is that display: inline-block
allows to set a width and height on the element.
Also, with display: inline-block
, the top and bottom margins/paddings are respected, but with display: inline
they are not.
Compared to display: block
, the major difference is that display: inline-block
does not add a line-break after the element, so the element can sit next to other elements.
The following example shows the different behavior of display: inline
, display: inline-block
and display: block
:
Example
span.a {
display: inline; /* the default for span */
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid blue;
background-color: yellow;
}
span.b {
display:
inline-block;
width: 100px;
height:
100px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px
solid blue;
background-color: yellow;
}
span.c {
display: block;
width:
100px;
height: 100px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid blue;
background-color: yellow;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
span.a {
display: inline; /* the default for span */
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid blue;
background-color: yellow;
}
span.b {
display: inline-block;
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid blue;
background-color: yellow;
}
span.c {
display: block;
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid blue;
background-color: yellow;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>The display Property</h1>
<h2>display: inline</h2>
<div>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum consequat scelerisque elit sit amet consequat. Aliquam erat volutpat. <span class="a">Aliquam</span> <span class="a">venenatis</span> gravida nisl sit amet facilisis. Nullam cursus fermentum velit sed laoreet. </div>
<h2>display: inline-block</h2>
<div>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum consequat scelerisque elit sit amet consequat. Aliquam erat volutpat. <span class="b">Aliquam</span> <span class="b">venenatis</span> gravida nisl sit amet facilisis. Nullam cursus fermentum velit sed laoreet. </div>
<h2>display: block</h2>
<div>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum consequat scelerisque elit sit amet consequat. Aliquam erat volutpat. <span class="c">Aliquam</span> <span class="c">venenatis</span> gravida nisl sit amet facilisis. Nullam cursus fermentum velit sed laoreet. </div>
</body>
</html>
Using inline-block to Create Navigation Links
One common use for display: inline-block
is to display list items horizontally instead of vertically. The following example creates horizontal navigation links:
Example
.nav {
background-color: yellow;
list-style-type: none;
text-align:
center;
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
}
.nav li {
display: inline-block;
font-size: 20px;
padding:
20px;
}
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <style> .nav { background-color: yellow; list-style-type: none; text-align: center; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .nav li { display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; padding: 20px; } </style> </head> <body> <h1>Horizontal Navigation Links</h1> <p>By default, list items are displayed vertically. In this example we use display: inline-block to display them horizontally (side by side).</p> <p>Note: If you resize the browser window, the links will automatically break when it becomes too crowded.</p> <ul class="nav"> <li><a href="#home">Home</a></li> <li><a href="#about">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="#clients">Our Clients</a></li> <li><a href="#contact">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> </body> </html>