HTML The class Attribute
Using The class Attribute
The class attribute specifies
one or more class names for an HTML element.
The class name can be used by CSS and JavaScript to perform certain tasks for elements with the specified class name.
In CSS, to select elements with a specific class, write a period (.) character, followed by the name of the class:
Example
Use CSS to style all elements with the class name "city":
<style>
.city {
background-color: tomato;
color: white;
padding:
10px;
}
</style>
<h2
class="city">London</h2>
<p>London is the capital of England.</p>
<h2 class="city">Paris</h2>
<p>Paris is the capital of France.</p>
<h2
class="city">Tokyo</h2>
<p>Tokyo is the capital of Japan.</p>
Result:
London
London is the capital of England.
Paris
Paris is the capital of France.
Tokyo
Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
Tip: The class attribute can be used on any HTML element.
Note: The class name is case sensitive!
Tip: You can learn much more about CSS in our CSS Tutorial.
Using The class Attribute in JavaScript
JavaScript can access elements with a specified class
name by using the getElementsByClassName() method:
Example
When a user clicks on a button, hide all elements with the class name "city":
<script>
function myFunction() {
var x = document.getElementsByClassName("city");
for (var i = 0; i < x.length;
i++) {
x[i].style.display = "none";
}
}
</script>
Try it Yourself »
Tip: Study JavaScript in the chapter HTML JavaScript, or in our JavaScript Tutorial.
Multiple Classes
HTML elements can have more than one class name, each class name must be separated by a space.
Example
Style elements with the class name "city", also style elements with the class name "main":
<h2
class="city main">London</h2>
<h2 class="city">Paris</h2>
<h2
class="city">Tokyo</h2>
Try it Yourself »
In the example above, the first <h2> element belongs to both the "city" class and the "main" class.
Same Class, Different Tag
Different tags, like <h2> and <p>, can have the same class name
and thereby share the same style:
Example
<h2 class="city">Paris</h2>
<p
class="city">Paris is the capital of France</p>
Try it Yourself »
Test Yourself with Exercises!
Exercise 1 » Exercise 2 » Exercise 3 »
