Is CSS case-sensitive?

Is CSS case-sensitive?

Published
Aug 29, 2023
Written by
Benjamin Crozat
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Introduction

CSS itself is not case-sensitive, but it can be if you are using an XHTML document type.

Let’s dive deeper and learn about all the nuances.

The case-sensitiveness of CSS in detail

  • Selectors: The HTML elements, classes, and IDs that you reference in your CSS file are case-sensitive based on the document type.
    For example, in HTML, the element names written in the HTML are case-insensitive, meaning <div> and <DiV> are considered the same. However, in XHTML (an XML-based version of HTML), case matters, so <div> and <DiV> would be considered different elements. Similarly, class and ID selectors are case-sensitive in all document types. So, if you have an element with id="example", you must reference it in your CSS file as #example and not #Example.
  • Properties: Property names defined by the W3C standards are case-insensitive. So, background-color and BackGround-COLOR are considered the same. That being said, it is recommended to use lowercase for property names to maintain readability and consistency.
  • Property Values: In general, property values are case-insensitive, except for font names and URLs. So, red and RED are considered the same color. However, the values of the font-family, url, and attr are case-sensitive.

Conclusion

In summary, it’s best practice to always use lowercase for HTML elements, attributes, and CSS properties and values (except for font names and URLs) to ensure consistency and avoid any potential issues.

About Benjamin Crozat
Benjamin Crozat

Hi! I’m from the South of France and I’ve been a self-taught web developer since 2006. When I started learning PHP and JavaScript, PHP 4 was still widely used, Internet Explorer 6 ruled the world, and we used DHTML to add falling snow on websites.

Being able to educate myself for free on the web changed my life for the better. Giving back to the community was a natural direction in my career and I truly enjoy it.

Therefore, I decided to take action:

  1. I launched this blog in September 2022 with the goal to be in everyone’s Google search. I get more than tens of thousands of monthly clicks from it and even more visits overall (my analytics dashboard is public by the way).
  2. I also started growing my X (formerly Twitter) account at the same time, which has now over 7,000 followers.
  3. All the content I write is free thanks to my sponsors.

I also want to be completely free with my time and make a living with my own products. In April 2024, I launched Nobinge, a tool to summarize and chat with your content, including YouTube videos.

Believe me, I’m just getting started!

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