What exactly does the ::before pseudo-element accomplish?

After reviewing the documentation, I believe I have a good grasp of the purpose of ::before and ::after. It seems that they are typically used in conjunction with other elements. However, the webpage I am examining contains the following code:

<body>
    <div class="container-fluid">
        ::before
        <div> ... </div>
        ::after
    </div>
<body>

I am confused about the function of ::before and ::after in this context. Can anyone clarify?

Answer №1

::before and ::after are special CSS pseudo-elements that are generated before and after the selected elements.

These pseudo-elements are usually not visible in the HTML structure of a page, but can be viewed using developer tools like Chrome inspector. With the increasing use of pseudo-elements for styling, having tools that can show them is valuable.

You can test this behavior by adding content to pseudo-elements using CSS. For example:

h1:before {
  content: 'before';
}

Answer №2

It seems like you're noticing that because the Chrome Inspector displays it for review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcKlJbmuxKo

Interestingly, these elements are not originally present in the HTML served by the server but are actually added by Chrome Inspector dynamically.

You can utilize these elements to visualize their box model on the screen and inspect the styles applied to them.

For more information, you may want to refer to this resource:

Answer №3

::before and ::after are considered pseudo elements, as demonstrated in the following example:

CSS:

.container-fluid>p::before{
    content: "HELLO";
}
.container-fluid>p::after{
    content: "World";
}

http://example.com/jsfiddle For further information, please refer to: http://example.com/css-tricks

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