The nested element's margin causes the surrounding parent element to be nudged instead of creating space away from it

I am confused by the unexpected output I am seeing. I had set the paragraph elements to be 100px away from all sides, but it seems that they are not positioned correctly in relation to the main element. The top and bottom margins of the main element are causing it to move down by 100px, which is different from what I expected in the horizontal direction.

Can anyone explain why this is happening?

main {
  background-color: aqua;
  width: 50%;
}

p {
  background-color: #444;
  margin: 100px;
}
<main>
  <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
  <p>This is <span class="opposite">another</span> paragraph.</p>
</main>

htmlcss

Answer №1

This concept is known as Margin Collapsing. For more details, you can check out the provided link. Here's a brief explanation:

At times, the top and bottom margins of blocks can merge (collapse) into a single margin with a size equal to the largest of the individual margins, or just one if they are identical. This phenomenon is referred to as margin collapsing.

It occurs in specific scenarios, with one such instance being:

If there are no borders, padding, inline elements, block formatting context created, or clearance separating the top margin of a block from its descendant blocks' top margin; or no borders, padding, inline content, height, or min-height creating space between the bottom margin of a block and its descendant blocks' bottom margin, then these margins will collapse. The collapsed margin extends beyond the parent element.

There are various ways to address this issue, such as adding padding to the parent element:

main {
  background-color: aqua;
  padding:1px; /* Adding this padding resolves the margin collapsing problem */
}

p {
  background-color: #444;
  margin: 100px;
}
<main>
  <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
  <p>This is <span class="opposite">another</span> paragraph.</p>
</main>

Similar questions

If you have not found the answer to your question or you are interested in this topic, then look at other similar questions below or use the search

Unable to click on the password field using a mouse - encountering a problem on a PHP

The link to access the email admin panel is While I am able to click on the username field, I am unable to click on the password field. The only way to place focus on it is by using the tab button on the keyboard. Initially, everything was functioning co ...

htmlcss

What is the best way to transfer information between different pages in an HTML document?

I am facing a specific requirement where I must transfer form data from one HTML page to another HTML page. The process involves a total of 5 pages, with the user entering data in the following order: 1st page: Name 2nd page: Weight 3rd page: Height 4t ...

javascripthtml

Deactivate zoom on the viewport and display the entire page

Hello, I am currently working on my website www.ecogo.io and I am trying to get the entire page to display instead of just a portion. However, I am encountering an issue where the page loads zoomed in on mobile browsers like Chrome for Android, whether Des ...

csshtmlviewport

Customize Zurb Foundation: Applying styles to specific child elements based on current screen size (large, medium, small)

For wide displays, I aim to give a distinct border to each 7th element. However, on smaller screens, I wish to apply these styles to every 4th element instead. Is there a way for me to nest my styles within .small, .medium, and .large classes? ...

csszurb-foundationcss-selectorsdescendant

Having trouble with hover effects not working on links due to the container? Here's a solution for you

I would like to create a layout with 3 columns for menu, story, and description. Each story should have its own unique description. Everything was working fine until I added a div to the middle column. The same issue arose with the right column but I manag ...

htmlcsshover

Navigate through a webpage using anchor links without the hash symbol in the URL

My goal is to smoothly navigate through a page using the anchor tag feature. My current method involves: <a href="#div1">Link1</a> <div id='div1'>link1 points me!!</div> Whenever I click on Link1, the page effectively ...

javascripthtmlhash

Guide on incorporating a dropdown menu within a Jssor slider

I am facing an issue with trying to include a dropdown menu inside the Jssor slider. The menu does not drop down when placed inside it. Here is the code snippet: <head> <script src="jquery.js"></script> <script src="jssor.slider.min. ...

javascriptjqueryhtmlcssjssor

When using jQuery's .each method, only the final JavaScript object element is added to the divs

I have a unique set of dynamically-created divs, each containing a Title. When a div is clicked, a modal opens (which is cleared upon click), and the Title is displayed again in the modal. My goal is to add the category descriptions into these modals, but ...

javascriptjqueryhtmlfunctionforeach

What steps should I take to design a polished PDF document?

I have been tasked with automating the invoicing system at our company. Currently, all data is stored in a local MySQL database and someone manually updates an Excel spreadsheet, which is then merged into a MS Word template for generating invoices. The obj ...

htmlcssxmlpdfxsl-fo

Behavior of Bootstrap Modal When Closing

I'm encountering an issue with a button labeled Sign Up that is supposed to load content in the form of a Modal from another file. Initially, when I click the button for the first time, everything works smoothly without any errors or warnings. However ...

csstwitter-bootstrapbootstrap-4

What could be causing the image not to be centered inside the <table><td>?

Currently, I am developing a web application with Google Script that generates a dashboard featuring multiple tables. To design the layout, I am utilizing Bootstrap (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected] /dist/css/bootstrap.min.css). Despite ...

javascripthtmlcssbootstrap-4

Exploring the capabilities of Three.js and OrbitControls in TypeScript

I am struggling to implement this example using TypeScript. I have included <script src="lib/three.min.js"></script> and <script src="lib/OrbitControls.js"></script> in the <head> of my html file, and the TypeScript file in t ...

javascripthtmlthree.jstypescript

Avoid the ability for individuals to interact with the icon embedded within a button

I'm currently working on a website where users need to interact with a button to delete an "Infraction." The button has a basic bootstrap style and includes an icon for the delete action. <button referencedInfraction="<%= i.infractionID %>" ...

javascripthtmljquerytwitter-bootstrap

Struggles with embedding a table within a form while working with jQuery Mobile

Currently facing a problem trying to embed an HTML table inside a form in a jQuery Mobile environment. An error message pops up: Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'not' of undefined The Chrome debugger points to this line in jquery.mobil ...

htmlformsjquery-mobilehtml-table

Trouble arises with the right-to-left alignment of the drop down in the <select> form within the Ionic

I have been struggling with an RTL form issue, specifically with the <select> element. Despite successfully making all labels and inputs RTL, the <select> dropdown appears on top of its label. I have spent hours attempting to position it to the ...

htmlcssionic-framework

Issues with maintaining the checked state of radio buttons in an Angular 4 application with Bootstrap 4

In my Angular 4 reactive form, I am struggling with the following code: <div class="btn-group" data-toggle="buttons"> <label class="btn btn-primary" *ngFor="let item of list;let i=index" > <input type="radio" name="som ...

htmlangulartypescriptbootstrap-4

Instructions on creating a Superfish menu with a vertical layout in the first level and a horizontal layout in the second level

Currently, I am using the Superfish menu in Drupal7 and have designed my first item level to be vertical. However, I now want to style my second item level horizontally. I have tried various CSS approaches and added some class names via jQuery like $(&apo ...

javascripthtmlcssmenusuperfish

Using jQuery's .load() function to exclusively receive image bytecodes

I am utilizing jQuery's .load() function to receive the bytecode of loaded images. Could it be due to a lack of specified MIMEType? because I'm using an image URL without a file extension? necessary to wrap the entire operation somehow? Here& ...

javascriptjqueryhtmlajaxdom

Transparent gap separating div and border with curvature

I am attempting to achieve a specific look for my button: I have experimented with using outline, but unfortunately I am unable to apply border radius to the outline. I have also tried using a box shadow with a white border, but I need the border to be se ...

htmlcss

"Within the boundaries of two tags, eliminate any spaces when using the display property set

I'm a bit confused about the behavior of display:inline-block. I noticed that when I use inline-block, it displays content in a smaller space across two tags. However, when I switch to using float: left, everything works fine. Does anyone have an ide ...

javascripthtmlcss