padding-left

The padding-left CSS property sets the width of the padding area to the left of an element.

{{InteractiveExample("CSS Demo: padding-left")}}

padding-left: 1.5em;

padding-left: 10%;

padding-left: 20px;

padding-left: 1ch;

padding-left: 0;

<section id="default-example">
  <div class="transition-all" id="example-element">
    <div class="box">
      Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the
      western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
    </div>
  </div>
</section>

#example-element {
  border: 10px solid #ffc129;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-align: left;
}

.box {
  border: dashed 1px;
}

An element's padding area is the space between its content and its border.

[!NOTE] The {{cssxref("padding")}} property can be used to set paddings on all four sides of an element with a single declaration.

Syntax

/* <length> values */
padding-left: 0.5em;
padding-left: 0;
padding-left: 2cm;

/* <percentage> value */
padding-left: 10%;

/* Global values */
padding-left: inherit;
padding-left: initial;
padding-left: revert;
padding-left: revert-layer;
padding-left: unset;

The padding-left property is specified as a single value chosen from the list below. Unlike margins, negative values are not allowed for padding.

Values

• {{cssxref("<length>")}}
  • : The size of the padding as a fixed value. Must be nonnegative.
• {{cssxref("<percentage>")}}
  • : The size of the padding as a percentage, relative to the inline size (width in a horizontal language, defined by {{cssxref("writing-mode")}}) of the containing block. Must be nonnegative.

Formal definition

{{cssinfo}}

Formal syntax

{{csssyntax}}

Examples

Setting left padding using pixels and percentages

.content {
  padding-left: 5%;
}
.side-box {
  padding-left: 10px;
}

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• {{cssxref("padding-top")}}, {{cssxref("padding-right")}}, and {{cssxref("padding-bottom")}}
• {{cssxref("padding")}} shorthand
• {{cssxref("padding-block-start")}}, {{cssxref("padding-block-end")}}, {{cssxref("padding-inline-start")}}, and {{cssxref("padding-inline-end")}}
• {{cssxref("padding-block")}} and {{cssxref("padding-inline")}} shorthands
• Introduction to the CSS basic box model
• CSS box model module