CSS Hover: Add Interactive Effects to Your Website

If you are new to web development, it is important to learn how to style elements when someone interacts with them. One of the most commonly used methods for this is the CSS hover selector. With the help of the hover CSS selector, you can make your website more responsive, user-friendly, and attractive to the eye.

In this blog, you will learn everything about the hover selector in CSS, how it works, and how you can use it effectively. So let’s get started!

Table of Contents:

• What is the :hover Selector in CSS?
• Uses of Hover Selector (:hover) in CSS
• Syntax for using CSS: hover
• Examples of Hover Effects
  1. Change Text Color on Hover
  2. Change Background Color on Hover
  3. Adding Underline or Text Decoration on Hover
  4. Increase Size (Zoom In) on Hover
  5. Fade Effect on Hover (Opacity)
  6. Change Font Style on Hover
  7. Add Shadow on Hover
  8. Rotate an element on Hover
  9. Reveal Hidden Element on Hover
• Best Practices for Using Hover CSS
• Conclusion

What is the :hover Selector in CSS?

A hover selector is a type of CSS pseudo-class. It is basically a special word that you can add in your CSS to make changes to how the element looks when something happens, like if you move the cursor over it. With the help of hover CSS, you can style your elements only when you hover the mouse over them. This means that you can change the size, color, or background right when you move the cursor over the element.

In CSS, to add a pseudo-class, you have to use a colon “:” after the name of the element. For example, when you write button: hover, then it implies that you should style this button when you hover over this button. Several pseudo-classes, such as :hover, :focus, and :active, help you to style elements that respond in a different way depending on what the user is doing, such as a hover, a click, or navigating with the keyboard.

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Uses of Hover Selector (:hover) in CSS

Some of the uses of Hover Selector ( :hover ) are given below:

1. You can use the :hover CSS selector to select elements and hover over them with the cursor.

2. You can also use the hover CSS element to create different effects when you hover the mouse over it. For example, you can change the color of the background, font color, make the element transparent, switch images, add underlines or other styles to text, and much more.

3. The :hover selector consists of specific use cases when it is applied to links. You can style the links that you have not linked yet, links that you have not visited yet, and even the links that have been clicked on currently. But if you are using those styles (like for visited or unvisited links), you should always include the hover selector after them in your CSS. In this way, the hover effects will work well when you hover the mouse over the links.

Example:

a:link {
  color: blue;
}

a:visited {
  color: red;
}

a:hover {
  color: green;
  font-weight :bold;
}

a:active {
  color: yellow;
} 

Code:

Output:

Explanation: 

The above HTML code is used to show how you can style a link using hover CSS and other link states. The link appears to be blue if it is not visited, red after it is visited, green and bold when it is hovered, and yellow when it is clicked. 

Syntax for using CSS: hover

Given below is the syntax for using CSS :hover selector:

selector:hover {
  property: value;
  property: value;
}

In the above syntax, after adding the properties and values, the example for CSS:hover selector will be:

a:hover {
  color: black;
  background: rgb(201, 200, 200);
}

Explanation:

In the above example, a:hover is used to target the anchor tag <a> elements when you hover the mouse over them. color: black; is used to change the color of the text to black. background: rgb(201, 200, 200); is used to set a light background color when you hover over it.

The entire HTML code using the above CSS code example is given below:

Code:

Output:

Examples of Hover Effects

When you use the hover CSS selector, you can create multiple creative effects on elements when you move your mouse over them. These effects help to improve the experience of the users by making websites more interactive and attractive to the eye.

Given below are some common examples of Hover Effects:

1. Change Text Color on Hover

This is the most basic use of hover effects in CSS. When you move your mouse over the text (or a link), the text changes its color. This helps other users to know that the text is clickable. It helps to ensure that the website is more interactive and easier to use.

Example:

a:hover {
  color: green;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

The above HTML code is used to show how you can use hover CSS. It changes the color of the link when you hover the mouse over it. Inside the <style> tag, a:hover represents that when you hover the link, color: green; changes the color of the link to green. The body also consists of a heading, a short message, and a link so that you can see the effect clearly.

2. Change Background Color on Hover

You can also make a button or a box to change its background color when you hover your mouse over it.

Example:

button:hover {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

In the above HTML code, when you hover the mouse over the button, the background color changes to light blue. This is due to the button:hover rule in CSS. This example shows how hover CSS can make buttons look more attractive.

3. Adding Underline or Text Decoration on Hover

You can also use it to make important text or links different from others when you move your mouse over them.

Example:

p:hover {
  text-decoration: underline;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

In the above output, you can clearly see that when you move your mouse over the paragraph, an underline appears. This is a simple way to make your text different using the p:hover selector in hover CSS.

4. Increase Size (Zoom In) on Hover

Here, you can make an element look a little zoomed in when you move your mouse over it.

Example:

img:hover {
  transform: scale(1.1);
  transition: transform 0.3s ease;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

In the above output, you can see that when you hover your mouse over the image, it zooms in a little. The transform: scale(1.1) helps it to grow, and the transition helps to make the effect smooth.

5. Fade Effect on Hover (Opacity)

This effect makes the element fade or see-through when you hover the mouse over it.

Example:

div:hover {
  opacity: 0.5;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

In the above output, you can see that when you hover over the blue box, it becomes semi-transparent. It uses opacity: 0.5. This helps it ot get a faded look, which shows how hover CSS can help you to control visibility.

6. Change Font Style on Hover

You can also change the font style when you move the mouse over it.

Example:

h1:hover {
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: bold;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

In the above example, you can see that when you move your mouse over the <h1> heading, it becomes italic and bold. This is an easy way to highlight headings using hover CSS.

7. Add Shadow on Hover

Here, you can make buttons look like they are slightly raised or floating. This is because a shadow is added when you hover over them.

Example:

.button:hover {
  box-shadow: 2px 4px 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

In the output above, you can see that a shadow is formed around the button as you hover over it. This provides the button with a floating look by using the box-shadow property of hover CSS.

8. Rotate an element on Hover

This effect helps to turn the element a little when you hover over it. This gives the element a fun look.

Example:

img:hover {
  transform: rotate(10deg);
  transition: transform 0.3s;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Explanation:

From the above output, you can see that when you hover your mouse over the image, the image rotates a little by 10 degrees. The transition makes the rotation smooth.

9. Reveal Hidden Element on Hover

Sometimes, you can keep text or an image hidden and make it appear only when you move your mouse over a specific area. This can be useful for things like tooltips or hidden messages.

Example:

.tooltip-text {
  display: none;
}

.tooltip:hover .tooltip-text {
  display: block;
}

The HTML code containing the above CSS code is given below:

Code:

Output:

Best Practices for Using Hover CSS

1. You should always add a backup style for touchscreens because many phones and tablets do not support hover effects like a mouse does.

2. You can use smooth transitions to make hover changes look neat and pleasant to the eye.

3. You should not use too many hover effects on one page. This can confuse the users.

4. Always make sure that the important content is not only shown on one hover, so that the people using keyboards and touch devices don’t miss it.

5. You also have to organize your hover styles clearly so that your CSS remains clean and you can update it later.

Conclusion

The CSS hover selector is one of the simplest and most powerful tools to make your website interactive. With the help of hover CSS, you can change the way elements look when users interact with them, without writing a single line of JavaScript.

Since you have learned the working of the hover selector and how you can use it effectively, you are now ready to start building attractive and interactive websites. To learn more about CSS, go through our blog and enroll in our Web Development Course.

CSS: hover Selector – FAQs