Why Doesn't Margin-Top Work on Span Elements?

Margin-Top Not Functioning for Span Element?

When adding a margin-top style to a span element, you may encounter a situation where the margin appears to be ignored. To understand this behavior, let's delve into the fundamental difference between inline and block level elements in CSS.

Unlike div and p elements, which are block level elements that can accept margins on all sides, span elements are classified as inline elements. Inline elements, such as words, do not inherently have margins or padding in the vertical direction. This is because they are intended to flow horizontally in text content.

As per the CSS specification, "Vertical margins will not have any effect on non-replaced inline elements." Thus, applying margin-top or margin-bottom to a span element has no visual impact.

To provide a margin to a span element, you can manipulate its display style. By setting the display property to "inline-block" or "block," you can effectively convert the inline element into a block-like element. This transformation will allow it to accept vertical margins and behave similarly to other block-level elements.

Here's a revised version of your CSS code that applies an inline-block style to the first_title span:

  display: inline-block;<br>  margin-top: 20px;<br>  margin-left: 12px;<br>  font-weight: bold;<br>  font-size: 24px;<br>  color: #221461;<br>}<br>

With this change, the span element will display as a block-like element while maintaining its inline properties, such as the ability to flow with surrounding text. The margin-top property will now take effect, and the element will have a 20px margin from the top.

Note that using "display: block" will convert the span element into a full-width block, which may not always be desirable. Therefore, "display: inline-block" is generally a better choice for providing vertical margins to span elements.

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