What steps should I take in order to modify the color of my header background?

I'm facing an issue with changing the background color of the header along the navigation menu using HTML/CSS. It seems that my current code is not working as expected. I believe that the header selector should contain my topnav section, but changing the background-color through the header style doesn't have any effect. If I try to put the background-color under the .topnav a, there ends up being a gap between the floating elements.

    <head>
    <style>
        body {
    box-sizing: border-box;
    margin: 0;
    background-color: #4c8b41;


}

header {
    background-color: red;
}

.topnav a {
    float: left;
    color: #f8f8f8;

    text-align: center;
    text-decoration: none;
    padding: 10px 10px;
}

.topnav a:hover {
    background-color: black;

}

#topnav-right {
    float: right;    
}
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <header>
        <div class="topnav">
            <a href="#"><h2>Home</h2></a>
            <a href="#"><h2><input type="text" placeholder="Search"></h2></a>
            <div id="topnav-right">
                <a href="#"><h2>Log In</h2></a>
                <a href="#"><h2>Sign Up</h2></a>
            </div>
        </div>
    </header>

</body>
</html>

Answer №1

body {
         box-sizing: border-box;
         margin: 0;
         background-color: #4c8b41;
         }
         
         header {
           background-color: red;
           height:100px;
         }
         
         .topnav a {
         float: left;
         color: #f8f8f8;
         text-align: center;
         text-decoration: none;
         padding: 10px 10px;
         }
         
         .topnav a:hover {
         background-color: black;
         }
         
         #topnav-right {
         float: right;    
         }
<html>
   <head>
   </head>
   <body>
      <header>
         <div class="topnav">
            <a href="#">
               <h2>Home</h2>
            </a>
            <a href="#">
               <h2><input type="text" placeholder="Search"></h2>
            </a>
            <div id="topnav-right">
               <a href="#">
                  <h2>Log In</h2>
               </a>
               <a href="#">
                  <h2>Sign Up</h2>
               </a>
            </div>
         </div>
      </header>
   </body>
</html>

Answer №2

Ensure that the rule you apply only affects elements with the class="header", not the actual header element. Modify the CSS as follows:

header {
    background-color: red;
}

When selecting elements with CSS, keep in mind the following syntax:

tag
{
  ...
}
.class
{
  ...
}
#id
{
  ...
}

Remember that when styling tags, no prefix is necessary. This applies to the header element.

UPDATE: The issue stems from the fact that the header element has no height, making the background not visible. This is caused by the floated anchor tags inside the .topnav element. Make sure to include the CSS updates to the .topnav:after for a clearfix.

<head>
  <style>
    body {
      box-sizing: border-box;
      margin: 0;
      background-color: #4c8b41;
    }
    
    header {
      background-color: red;
    }
    
    .topnav:after {
      clear: both;
      display: block;
      content: "";
    }
    
    .topnav a {
      float: left;
      color: #f8f8f8;
      text-align: center;
      text-decoration: none;
      padding: 10px 10px;
    }
    
    .topnav a:hover {
      background-color: black;
    }
    
    #topnav-right {
      float: right;
    }
  </style>
</head>

<body>
  <header>
    <div class="topnav">
      <a href="#">
        <h2>Home</h2>
      </a>
      <a href="#">
        <h2><input type="text" placeholder="Search"></h2>
      </a>
      <div id="topnav-right">
        <a href="#">
          <h2>Log In</h2>
        </a>
        <a href="#">
          <h2>Sign Up</h2>
        </a>
      </div>
    </div>
  </header>

</body>

</html>

Answer №3

To ensure correct application of styles, eliminate the dot. The dot syntax is specifically for selecting classes. The HTML element "Header" does not require a dot prefix. The lack of background color in the header is due to floating elements causing all elements within to float. When all elements are floating, the parent div's height becomes zero, resulting in no background color being visible.

Answer №4

header { 
    background-color: red;
}

If the above code is not working, consider adding an id to your header section.

<body>
    <header id="unique_id">
        <div class="topnav">
            <a href="#"><h2>Home</h2></a>
            <a href="#"><h2><input type="text" placeholder="Search"></h2></a>
            <div id="topnav-right">
                <a href="#"><h2>Log In</h2></a>
                <a href="#"><h2>Sign Up</h2></a>
            </div>
        </div>
    </header>

</body>

Once the id is added, apply the following CSS:

#unique_id{background-color: red;}

Alternatively, you can use:

#unique_id{background: red;}

Answer №5

To fix the issue, you can either change '.header' to 'header' in the CSS file or add the class 'header' to the HTML header tag. This adjustment should resolve the problem as the '.header' in CSS refers to a class in HTML.

Update:

It appears that the header division did not have a set height. Below is the revised code to rectify this issue:

body {
    box-sizing: border-box;
    margin: 0;
    background-color: #4c8b41;
}

.header {
    background-color: red;
    height: 87px;
}

.topnav a {
    float: left;
    color: #f8f8f8;
    text-align: center;
    text-decoration: none;
    padding: 10px 10px;
}

.topnav a:hover {
    background-color: black;
}

#topnav-right {
    float: right;    
}
<body>
    <header>
        <div class="topnav header">
            <a href="#"><h2>Home</h2></a>
            <a href="#"><h2><input type="text" placeholder="Search"></h2></a>
            <div id="topnav-right">
                <a href="#"><h2>Log In</h2></a>
                <a href="#"><h2>Sign Up</h2></a>
            </div>
        </div>
    </header>

</body>

Answer №6

It appears that you are attempting to apply the CSS to the class header, rather than the element itself.

header { /*remove the '.'*/
    background-color: red;
}
/* EDIT */
.topnav {
    background-color: red;
    height: 80px;

}

Consider applying the CSS to your div element instead.

EDIT 2: You may also want to try adding a specified height value.

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