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CSS

Posted by Craig Kendricks
Craig Kendricks
3,413 Points

Margin Vs. Padding

I don't know why but I can't get a grip on when to use Margin versus when to use Padding.

Can anyone give me a simple way to decide or maybe a mantra you use that has helped you remember when to use them?

It's just not sticking in the noggin. :P

Thanks.

1 Answer

Ben Griffith
Ben Griffith
5,808 Points

Say you have 2 red boxes next to each other. Both have text within them. If you want to move the boxes apart, you'd use margin. If you want to increase the distance between the edge of one of the boxes and the text inside, you'd use padding.

What we're dealing with is the css box model. Take a quick look at this article, it explains it in more detail;

http://css-tricks.com/the-css-box-model/

Hope that helps a bit!

Craig Kendricks
Craig Kendricks
3,413 Points

Good stuff, thanks Ben!