CSS Lists Tutorial with Examples

HTML Lists
CSS list-style-type
CSS list-style-image
CSS list-style-position
CSS margin, padding

1. HTML Lists

HTML List

In HTML, there are two types of List: Unordered Lists and Ordered Lists.

Unordered Lists - Use bullets to mark items on the list.
Ordered Lists - Use numbers (Regular numbers, or Roman numbers), or letters to mark items on a list.

CSS List properties allow you to set the following:

Allow choose the type of ::marker that will be seen in the Unordered List.
Allow choose the type of ::marker that will be seen in the Ordered List.
Use an image as an ::marker for an Unordered List.
Sets the location of ::marker.

2. CSS list-style-type

The CSS list-style-type property is used for the <UL>(Unordered List) tag to set the style for the items of the list.

The CSS list-style-type can take one of the values:

disc
circle
square
none

ul-list-style-type-example.html

<h3>list-style-type: dist (Default)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: dist;">
    <li>HTML</li>
    <li>CSS</li>
    <li>Javascript</li>
</ul>

<h3>list-style-type: circle</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
    <li>HTML</li>
    <li>CSS</li>
    <li>Javascript</li>
</ul>

<h3>list-style-type: square</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
    <li>HTML</li>
    <li>CSS</li>
    <li>Javascript</li>
</ul>

<h3>list-style-type: none</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: none;">
    <li>HTML</li>
    <li>CSS</li>
    <li>Javascript</li>
</ul>

CSS list-style-type can also be applied to <OL> (Ordered List), its values can be:

none
disc
circle
square
armenian
decimal
cjk-ideographic
decimal-leading-zero
georgian
hebrew
hiragana
hiragana-iroha
katakana
katakana-iroha
lower-alpha
lower-greek
lower-latin
lower-roman
upper-alpha
upper-greek
upper-latin
upper-roman

list-style-type-example.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
   <head>
      <title>List Styles Example</title>
      <meta charset="UTF-8">
      <style>
         table {
         border-collapse: collapse;
         border: 1px solid black;
         width:100%;
         }
         td  {
         border: 1px solid black;
         padding: 5px;
         vertical-align: top;
         white-space: nowrap;
         }
      </style>
      <script src="list-style-type-example.js"></script>
   </head>
   <body onLoad="initRadios()">
      <table>
         <tr>
            <td id="radio-container"></td>
            <td>
               <h3 id ="my-info">list-style-type: none</h3>
               <ol style="list-style-type: none;" id="my-list">
                  <li>HTML</li>
                  <li>CSS</li>
                  <li>Javascript</li>
               </ol>
            </td>
         <tr>
      </table>
   </body>
</html>

list-style-type-example.js

var types= [
  "none",
    "disc",
    "circle",
    "square",
   "armenian",
    "decimal",
    "cjk-ideographic",
    "decimal-leading-zero",
    "georgian",
    "hebrew",
    "hiragana",
    "hiragana-iroha",
    "katakana",
    "katakana-iroha ",
    "lower-alpha",
    "lower-greek",
    "lower-latin",
    "lower-roman",
    "upper-alpha",
    "upper-greek",
    "upper-latin",
    "upper-roman"]; 
function initRadios()  {
  var radioContainer = document.getElementById("radio-container");

  for(var i = 0; i< types.length; i++) {
      var radioElement = document.createElement("input");
      radioElement.type = "radio";
      radioElement.name = "type";
      radioElement.value = types[i];
      var spanElement = document.createElement("span");
      spanElement.innerHTML = types[i];
      spanElement.style.marginRight = "5px";
      var brElement = document.createElement("br");
      radioElement.addEventListener("click", function(event)  {
         var infoElement = document.getElementById("my-info");
         infoElement.innerHTML = "{ list-style-type: " + event.target.value + " }";
         var listElement = document.getElementById("my-list");
         listElement.style.listStyleType = event.target.value;
      });
      radioContainer.appendChild(radioElement);
      radioContainer.appendChild(spanElement);
      radioContainer.appendChild(brElement);
  }
}

3. CSS list-style-image

The CSS list-style-image property is used for the <UL> tag to display an alternative image for ::markers.

Notes: the list-style-image takes precedence over the list-style-type. If the image provided by list-style-image does not exist or cannot display list-style-type to be used.

<ul style="list-style-image: URL('../right-arrow-16.png')">
    <li>HTML</li>
    <li>CSS</li>
    <li>Javascript</li>
</ul>

4. CSS list-style-position

The CSS list-style-position property is used for the <UL> and the <OL> tag to set the position of the ::markers.

Possible values of the CSS list-style-position are:

outside
inside
initial
inherit

list-style-position	Description
outside	::marker is located outside of the items of the list.
inside	::marker is located inside of the items of the list.

list-style-position-example.html

<h3>list-style-position: outside (Default)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-position: outside">
    <li>
        Coffee - A brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans,
        which are the seeds of berries from the Coffea plant
    </li>
    <li>
        Tea - An aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot
        or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis,
        an evergreen shrub (bush) native to Asia
    </li>
</ul>

<h3>list-style-position: inside</h3>
<ul style="list-style-position: inside">
    <li>
        Coffee - A brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans,
        which are the seeds of berries from the Coffea plant
    </li>
    <li>
        Tea - An aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot
        or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis,
        an evergreen shrub (bush) native to Asia
    </li>
</ul>

5. CSS margin, padding

The image below shows the HTML List structure, and you can use CSS to change its margin/padding.

Here is an example of the customized margin/padding of the HTML List:

margin-padding-example.css

ul {
  background: #3399ff;
  padding: 20px;
}
ul li {
  background: #cce5ff;
  margin: 5px;
}
ol {
  background: #ff9999;
  padding: 20px;
}
ol li {
  background: #ffe5e5;
  padding: 5px;
  margin-left: 35px;
}

margin-padding-example.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>CSS List</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="margin-padding-example.css" />
</head>
<body>
    <h3>ul {padding: 20px;} ul li {margin: 5px}</h3>
    <ul>
        <li>HTML</li>
        <li>CSS</li>
        <li>Javascript</li>
    </ul>
    <h3>ol {padding: 20px;} ol li {margin-left: 35px; padding: 5px;}</h3>
    <ol>
        <li>HTML</li>
        <li>CSS</li>
        <li>Javascript</li>
    </ol>
</body>
</html>