---
id: 672bcc9c4a6dd6d7dd3e6357
title: What Is the CSS Box Model, and How Does It Work?
challengeType: 19
dashedName: what-is-the-css-box-model
---

# --description--

The CSS box model is a fundamental concept for web development. It defines how HTML elements are structured and positioned. If you understand this model you will be able to control the size, spacing and appearance of the elements on your website.

In the CSS box model, every element is surrounded by a box. This box consists of four elements: the content area, the padding, the border, and the margin. 

The content area is the innermost part of the box. It's the space that contains the actual content of an element like text or images.

The padding is the area immediately after the content area. It's the space between the content area and the border of an element. With the padding you can add space around the content to improve it's readability. You can set different values for the top, right, bottom and left padding with the `padding` property.  

This is an example with the `padding` shorthand property, where we set the top padding to fifteen pixels, the right padding to five pixels, the bottom padding to two pixels and the left padding to eight pixels:  

```css
padding: 15px 5px 2px 8px;
```

The border is the outer edge or outline of an element in the CSS box model. It's the visual boundary of the element. You can customize the border style, width, color and other properties using the `border` property. Here's an example where we set the border to a width of five pixels, the style to solid and a color of blue: 

```css
border: 5px solid blue;
```

If you omit a value the default property of that value will be used. That's `medium` for the width, `none` for the style and the current color for the color. 

You can set these three properties directly in the shorthand `border` property if you want all sides to be exactly the same. But if you want to assign a different style to each side you can use the `border-width`, `border-style` and `border-color` properties. 

```css
border-width: 2px 4px 7px 12px;
border-style: dashed solid solid dashed;
border-color: blue red green black;
```

You can write up to four values for each one of these properties. They will be applied in a clockwise sequence starting from the top. If you only write one value it will be applied to all four sides.

Finally, the margin is the space outside the border of an element. It determines the distance between an element and other elements around it. You can set different margin values for the top, right, bottom and left sides of the element using the `margin` property.  

So in this example the top margin is three pixels, the right margin is twelve pixels, the bottom margin is nine pixels and the left margin is seven pixels:  

```css
margin: 3px 12px 9px 7px;
```

These four components are essential for calculating the total width and height of an element.

In the next few lessons, you will learn more about how this is handled by the browser and how you can customize it. The CSS box model is a fundamental concept for web development.  

Understanding how these components interact and contribute to an element's dimensions is essential for implementing web designs.

# --questions--

## --text--

Which component of the CSS box model defines the space between the content area and the border?

## --answers--

`margin`

### --feedback--

Think about the area surrounding the content.

---

`padding`

---

`content`

### --feedback--

Think about the area surrounding the content.

---

`border`

### --feedback--

Think about the area surrounding the content.

## --video-solution--

2

## --text--

Which component of the CSS box model specifies the space outside the border of an element?

## --answers--

`margin`

---

`padding`

### --feedback--

Think about the space between an element and its neighboring elements.

---

`content`

### --feedback--

Think about the space between an element and its neighboring elements.

---

`border`

### --feedback--

Think about the space between an element and its neighboring elements.

## --video-solution--

1

## --text--

Which component of the CSS box model creates a visible outline around an element?

## --answers--

`margin`

### --feedback--

Think about the visible edge of an element.

---

`padding`

### --feedback--

Think about the visible edge of an element.

---

`content`

### --feedback--

Think about the visible edge of an element.

---

`border`
 
## --video-solution--

4
