The style Attribute

Apply inline styling to a single element.

Syntax<p style="color:red;">Red text</p>

The style attribute lets you apply CSS styles directly to an element. This is called inline styling.

Common style properties

  • color — text color.
  • background-color — background color.
  • font-size — size of the text.

Separate multiple properties with a semicolon.

Example

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When to use it

  • A developer uses the style attribute to quickly prototype a layout before moving styles to an external CSS file.
  • An email template engineer uses inline style attributes because many email clients strip external stylesheets.
  • A CMS injects dynamic colors via inline style="color: var(--brand)" generated from a user-selected theme.

More examples

Inline color and font size

The style attribute applies CSS declarations directly to a single element without a stylesheet.

Example · html
<h1 style="color: #0066cc; font-size: 2rem;">Welcome</h1>
<p style="color: #444; line-height: 1.6;">Start learning HTML today.</p>

Inline style for email compatibility

Email HTML relies on inline styles because many mail clients (Outlook, Gmail) ignore external CSS.

Example · html
<table style="width:600px; border-collapse:collapse; margin:0 auto;">
  <tr>
    <td style="background:#f4f4f4; padding:24px; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;">
      <p style="margin:0;">Your order has shipped!</p>
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

Dynamic style from a CMS value

A CMS can inject user-chosen colors as inline styles, allowing per-page theming without extra classes.

Example · html
<!-- Server renders the hex value from the database -->
<div class="hero" style="background-color: #1a1a2e;">
  <h2 style="color: #eaeaea;">Special Offer</h2>
</div>

Discussion

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The style Attribute — HTML | SoundsCode