CSS list-style-type Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 03, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 17 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The list-style-type property in CSS is used to define the appearance of the list item marker for ordered lists (<ol>) and unordered lists (<ul>).

This property allows you to customize the bullets, numbers, or other markers that appear before each list item, enhancing the visual presentation of lists on your website.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the list-style-type property is simple and can be applied to list elements (<ul>, <ol>, <li>).

Syntax

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element {
  list-style-type: type;
}

Here, type specifies the marker type, which can be a predefined keyword or a custom marker.

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the list-style-type property depends on the type of list:

For unordered lists (<ul>), the default value is disc.
For ordered lists (<ol>), the default value is decimal.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
disc	A filled circle (default for <ul>).
circle	A hollow circle.
square	A filled square.
decimal	Decimal numbers, beginning with 1 (default for <ol>).
decimal-leading-zero	Decimal numbers, padded by initial zeros (e.g., 01, 02, 03).
lower-alpha	Lowercase alphabetical characters (a, b, c, ...).
upper-alpha	Uppercase alphabetical characters (A, B, C, ...).
lower-roman	Lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, ...).
upper-roman	Uppercase Roman numerals (I, II, III, ...).
none	No marker.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll demonstrate different list-style-type values applied to an unordered and an ordered list.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS list-style-type Example</title>
  <style>
    ul {
      list-style-type: square;
    }

    ol {
      list-style-type: upper-roman;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Custom List Style Types</h1>
  
  <h2>Unordered List</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Item 1</li>
    <li>Item 2</li>
    <li>Item 3</li>
  </ul>
  
  <h2>Ordered List</h2>
  <ol>
    <li>First</li>
    <li>Second</li>
    <li>Third</li>
  </ol>
</body>
</html>

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The list-style-type property is widely supported across all modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. This property has been a part of CSS for a long time, so it works reliably across various browser versions.

🎉 Conclusion

The list-style-type property provides a simple yet effective way to customize the appearance of list markers on your website.

Whether you're aiming for a standard look with numbers and bullets or a more unique style with custom markers, this property gives you the flexibility to enhance the presentation of your lists. Experiment with different values to find the perfect match for your website's design.