The link background color is malfunctioning

Question

The link background color is malfunctioning

I'm having trouble getting the background color to show for the active link class. The border changes to dashed, but the color remains the same. Can anyone help me figure out what's going on? I'm new to CSS and feeling a bit frustrated. Also, I know the text color isn't working either; I just set it to white for testing purposes. I definitely don't want white text on a white background.

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

.active{
    background-color: white;
    color: white;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
<h1>Ulimate Frisbee History</h1>
<nav>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
<a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
<a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
</nav>
</header>

html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

Pointed out by @OvidiuUnguru, the background and color properties remain unaffected due to the principle of CSS selector priority, also known as Specificity. According to this principle, the most specific rule will be applied last, and in this case, a:link holds more specificity than .active.

Although you could utilize !important, the priority hierarchy still takes precedence unless there is only one !important rule... However, I recommend avoiding this approach as it may lead to unintended consequences in the future. The best practices of using !important are covered in detail on MDN:

Some guidelines to follow:

Always explore alternatives that involve specificity before resorting to !important

Use !important solely for page-specific CSS that needs to override external CSS (from libraries like Bootstrap or

Avoid using !important for plugins or mashups.

Avoid using !important for global site-wide CSS.

Moreover, it is unlikely that you desire all elements with the class .active to have the same styles as the links; you may want different styling for the active section of the page, active buttons, etc. Therefore, it is advisable to be more specific. In the given code snippet, I simply prefixed a to your selector to make it more specific: a.active.

nav {
  margin: 0 auto;
  width: 75%;
}

nav a {
  text-align: center;
  display: block;
  width: 20%;
  float: left;
  margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
  padding: 20px 0px;
  border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
  color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited {
  background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
  color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

a.active {
  background-color: white !important;
  color: white !important;
  border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
  <h1>Ultimate Frisbee History</h1>
  <nav>
    <a href="index.html">Home</a>
    <a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
    <a href="history.html" class="active">History</a>
    <a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
  </nav>
</header>

Answer 2

Pointed out by @OvidiuUnguru, the background and color properties remain unaffected due to the principle of CSS selector priority, also known as Specificity. According to this principle, the most specific rule will be applied last, and in this case, a:link holds more specificity than .active.

Although you could utilize !important, the priority hierarchy still takes precedence unless there is only one !important rule... However, I recommend avoiding this approach as it may lead to unintended consequences in the future. The best practices of using !important are covered in detail on MDN:

Some guidelines to follow:

Always explore alternatives that involve specificity before resorting to !important

Use !important solely for page-specific CSS that needs to override external CSS (from libraries like Bootstrap or

Avoid using !important for plugins or mashups.

Avoid using !important for global site-wide CSS.

Moreover, it is unlikely that you desire all elements with the class .active to have the same styles as the links; you may want different styling for the active section of the page, active buttons, etc. Therefore, it is advisable to be more specific. In the given code snippet, I simply prefixed a to your selector to make it more specific: a.active.

nav {
  margin: 0 auto;
  width: 75%;
}

nav a {
  text-align: center;
  display: block;
  width: 20%;
  float: left;
  margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
  padding: 20px 0px;
  border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
  color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited {
  background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
  color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

a.active {
  background-color: white !important;
  color: white !important;
  border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
  <h1>Ultimate Frisbee History</h1>
  <nav>
    <a href="index.html">Home</a>
    <a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
    <a href="history.html" class="active">History</a>
    <a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
  </nav>
</header>

Answer 3

Answer №2

One explanation for the absence of a white background on the "active" class is due to priority. The CSS pseudo-classes a:visited and a:link take precedence over the .active class.

To address this, you can implement the following CSS:

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

.active{
    background-color: white !important;
    color: white !important;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
<h1>Ulimate Frisbee History</h1>
<nav>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
<a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
<a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
</nav>
</header>

However, the necessity of using :link and :visited may not be apparent.

Answer 4

One explanation for the absence of a white background on the "active" class is due to priority. The CSS pseudo-classes a:visited and a:link take precedence over the .active class.

To address this, you can implement the following CSS:

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

.active{
    background-color: white !important;
    color: white !important;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
<h1>Ulimate Frisbee History</h1>
<nav>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
<a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
<a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
</nav>
</header>

However, the necessity of using :link and :visited may not be apparent.

Answer 5

Answer №3

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

.active{
    background-color: white !important;
    color: white;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
<h1>Ultimate Frisbee History</h1>
<nav>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
<a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
<a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
</nav>
</header>

Answer 6

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

.active{
    background-color: white !important;
    color: white;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
<h1>Ultimate Frisbee History</h1>
<nav>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
<a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
<a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
</nav>
</header>

Answer 7

Answer №4

Give this a try for some helpful tips.

To adjust the "font color," include the following:

.selected {
    color: blue !important;
    border: 3px solid black;
}

If you'd like to modify the "background color," use this code:

.selected {
    background-color: yellow !important;
    border: 3px solid black;
}

For changing both the "font and background color," utilize the following:

.selected {
    color: green !important;
    background-color: yellow !important;
    border: 3px solid black;
}

Answer 8

Give this a try for some helpful tips.

To adjust the "font color," include the following:

.selected {
    color: blue !important;
    border: 3px solid black;
}

If you'd like to modify the "background color," use this code:

.selected {
    background-color: yellow !important;
    border: 3px solid black;
}

For changing both the "font and background color," utilize the following:

.selected {
    color: green !important;
    background-color: yellow !important;
    border: 3px solid black;
}

Answer 9

Answer №5

Similar outcomes to those shared by others without the need for using !important

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

/* new colors working!! */
a.active, a.active:link, a.active:visited {
    background-color: green;
    color: white;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
    <h1>Ulimate Frisbee History</h1>
    <nav>
        <a href="index.html">Home</a>
        <a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
        <a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
        <a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
    </nav>
</header>

Alternatively, you can opt for a:link:not(.active) and a:visited:not(.active) for the first two blocks

Answer 10

Similar outcomes to those shared by others without the need for using !important

nav{
    margin:0 auto;
    width: 75%;

}

nav a {
    text-align: center;
    display: block;
    width: 20%;
    float: left;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px;
    padding: 20px 0px;
    border: 2px solid black;
}

a:link {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(86, 19, 139, 1);
}

a:visited{
    background-color: rgba(221, 221, 221, 1);
    color: rgba(171, 171, 171, 1);
}

/* new colors working!! */
a.active, a.active:link, a.active:visited {
    background-color: green;
    color: white;
    border: 5px dashed black;
}

<header>
    <h1>Ulimate Frisbee History</h1>
    <nav>
        <a href="index.html">Home</a>
        <a href="teams.html">Teams</a>
        <a href="history.html" class = "active">History</a>
        <a href="http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html" target="_blank">USA Ultimate</a>
    </nav>
</header>

Alternatively, you can opt for a:link:not(.active) and a:visited:not(.active) for the first two blocks

The link background color is malfunctioning

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

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