Due to the unique file structure of your local system, I'm unable to provide a precise answer at this time. If you provide details in your question, I may be able to offer a more direct solution.
Your issue stems from how you are utilizing the path. Let me break down the various options you have attempted and their respective functions:
1 - No starting dots, no starting slash
href="css/style.css"
In this scenario, if there is no prefix character, it indicates that you are operating within the same directory as your HTML file.
The folder structure should resemble the following for the above example to work correctly:
- CSS (folder)
- STYLE.CSS (file)
- PAGE.HTML (your HTML file)
This means that the HTML file and the CSS folder need to be siblings.
2 - Starting dots and slash
href="../css/style.css"
By using "../", you are now referencing the parent directory of the HTML file's location. Consider the following folder setup:
- CSS (folder)
- STYLE.CSS (file)
- WEBSITE (folder)
- PAGE.HTML (your HTML page)
In this configuration, the HTML page and the CSS folder are not siblings. However, the CSS folder and the parent of the HTML page are siblings. Hence, you need to move up one level by adding ../
as demonstrated in the example.
*Please note that this can be stacked. For instance, you could use href="../../../css/style.css"
to refer to the grandparent of your HTML page.
3 - Starting slash
href="/css/style.css"
Now, with the leading slash, you are indicating that you are working from the root directory of your website (not the specific page).
Assuming your webpage is accessible through the following URL:
http://my.website.com/myapplication/newversion/page.html
Using the initial slash implies that the base folder is set to the highest parent directory (which is always the web domain). Therefore, for the given example, the CSS file will be searched at the following location:
http://my.website.com/css/style.css
This form of notation is better suited for an absolute path. Typically, when dealing with a relative path, like in your case, Options 1 and 2 are more suitable.
As mentioned earlier, without knowledge of your specific folder structure, providing a tailored response is difficult. Feel free to update your question to allow for further refinement of my answer.