What are CSS selectors and how to use them?
Rachel Hernandez
Published Jun 22, 2026
What are CSS selectors and how to use them?
CSS selectors are used to “find” (or select) the HTML elements you want to style. We can divide CSS selectors into five categories: Simple selectors (select elements based on name, id, class) Combinator selectors (select elements based on a specific relationship between them)
How do you style an active link in CSS?
Tip: Use the :link selector to style links to unvisited pages, the :visited selector to style links to visited pages, and the :active selector to style the active link. Note: :hover MUST come after :link and :visited (if they are present) in the CSS definition, in order to be effective!
How do I select a specific class in CSS?
The CSS class Selector. The class selector selects HTML elements with a specific class attribute. To select elements with a specific class, write a period (.) character, followed by the class name.
How to group selectors to minimize code in CSS?
Look at the following CSS code (the h1, h2, and p elements have the same style definitions): It will be better to group the selectors, to minimize the code. To group selectors, separate each selector with a comma. Test Yourself with Exercises!
In CSS, selectors are patterns used to select the element (s) you want to style. Use our CSS Selector Tester to demonstrate the different selectors. Selects every element whose href attribute value ends with “.pdf”.
What are some examples of selectors in jQuery?
jQuery Selectors Selector Example Selects element $ (“p”) All elements el1, el2, el3 $ (“h1,div,p”) All , and elements :first $ (“p:first”) The first element :last $ (“p:last”) The last element
How do you select a specific element in HTML?
The id selector uses the id attribute of an HTML element to select a specific element. The id of an element is unique within a page, so the id selector is used to select one unique element! To select an element with a specific id, write a hash (#) character, followed by the id of the element. Example.
What is the difference between element selector and ID selector?
The element selector selects HTML elements based on the element name. The id selector uses the id attribute of an HTML element to select a specific element. The id of an element is unique within a page, so the id selector is used to select one unique element!