Building Hover Effects with CSS

Tutorial 4 of 5

1. Introduction

In this tutorial, we are going to learn about creating hover effects using CSS pseudo-classes. Hover effects can significantly improve user experience on your website by providing visual feedback when a user interacts with an element.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to create various hover effects using CSS, and understand how to apply them to different HTML elements.

Prerequisites

  • Basic knowledge of HTML and CSS.

2. Step-by-Step Guide

CSS Pseudo-classes

In CSS, a pseudo-class is used to define a special state of an element. For this tutorial, we will use the :hover pseudo-class, which selects elements when you mouse over them.

Applying Hover Effects

To apply a hover effect, we first select the element we want to apply the effect to, then we use the :hover pseudo-class to specify the style changes that should occur when the element is hovered over.

3. Code Examples

Example 1: Changing Color on Hover

The following example changes the color of a link when it's hovered over:

<a href="#" class="hover-link">Hover over me</a>
.hover-link {
  color: blue; /* Original color */
}

.hover-link:hover {
  color: red; /* Color on hover */
}

In this code, the :hover pseudo-class is used to change the color of the text from blue to red when you hover over it.

Example 2: Changing Background Color on Hover

The following example changes the background color of a button when it's hovered over:

<button class="hover-button">Hover over me</button>
.hover-button {
  background-color: blue; /* Original background color */
  color: white; /* Original text color */
}

.hover-button:hover {
  background-color: red; /* Background color on hover */
}

In this code, the :hover pseudo-class is used to change the background color of the button from blue to red when you hover over it.

4. Summary

In this tutorial, we have learned how to create hover effects using CSS pseudo-classes. We have seen how to change the color and background color of an element when it's hovered over.

As a next step, you can practice by creating hover effects on different types of elements and trying out different style changes on hover. For more detailed information, you can refer to the MDN Web Docs.

5. Practice Exercises

Exercise 1

Create a paragraph of text that changes color and increases in size when hovered over.

Exercise 2

Create a list of links. When a link is hovered over, it should change color, increase in size, and have a background color.

Solutions

Exercise 1

<p class="hover-paragraph">Hover over me</p>
.hover-paragraph {
  color: green;
  font-size: 12px;
}

.hover-paragraph:hover {
  color: orange;
  font-size: 14px;
}

Exercise 2

<ul>
  <li><a href="#" class="hover-link">Link 1</a></li>
  <li><a href="#" class="hover-link">Link 2</a></li>
  <li><a href="#" class="hover-link">Link 3</a></li>
</ul>
.hover-link {
  color: blue;
  font-size: 12px;
  background-color: white;
}

.hover-link:hover {
  color: yellow;
  font-size: 14px;
  background-color: black;
}

These exercises will provide you with practical experience using hover effects. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with creating and customizing these effects.