CSS @media Rule

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Example

Change the background color of the <body> element to "lightblue" when the browser window is 600px wide or less:

@media only screen and (max-width: 600px) {
body {
background-color: lightblue;
}
}

Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.

Definition and Usage

The @media rule is used in media queries to apply different styles for different media types/devices.

Media queries can be used to check many things, such as:

width and height of the viewport
width and height of the device
orientation (is the tablet/phone in landscape or portrait mode?)
resolution

Using media queries are a popular technique for delivering a tailored style sheet (responsive web design) to desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.

You can also use media queries to specify that certain styles are only for printed documents or for screen readers (mediatype: print, screen, or speech).

In addition to media types, there are also media features. Media features provide more specific details to media queries, by allowing to test for a specific feature of the user agent or display device. For example, you can apply styles to only those screens that are greater, or smaller, than a certain width.

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specifies the first browser version that fully supports the @media rule.

Property
@media	21	9	3.5	4.0	9

CSS Syntax

@media not|only mediatype and (mediafeature and|or|not mediafeature) {
CSS-Code;
}

meaning of the not, only and and keywords:

not: The not keyword inverts the meaning of an entire media query.

only: The only keyword prevents older browsers that do not support media queries with media features from applying the specified styles. It has no effect on modern browsers.

and: The and keyword combines a media feature with a media type or other media features.

They are all optional. However, if you use not or only, you must also specify a media type.

You can also have different stylesheets for different media, like this:

More Examples

Example

Hide an element when the browser's width is 600px wide or less:

@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
div.example {
display: none;
}
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Use mediaqueries to set the background-color to lavender if the viewport is 800 pixels wide or wider, to lightgreen if the viewport is between 400 and 799 pixels wide. If the viewport is smaller than 400 pixels, the background-color is lightblue:

body {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

@media screen and (min-width: 400px) {
body {
    background-color: lightgreen;
  }
}

@media screen and (min-width: 800px) {
body {
    background-color: lavender;
}
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Create a responsive navigation menu (displayed horizontally on large screens and vertically on small screens):

@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav a {
float: none;
width: 100%;
}
}

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Example

Use media queries to create a responsive column layout:

/* On screens that are 992px wide or less, go from four columns to two columns */
@media screen and (max-width: 992px) {
.column {
    width: 50%;
  }
}

/* On screens that are 600px wide or less, make the columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
  .column {
    width: 100%;
  }
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Use media queries to create a responsive website:

Try it Yourself »

Example

Media queries can also be used to change layout of a page depending on the orientation of the browser. You can have a set of CSS properties that will only apply when the browser window is wider than its height, a so called "Landscape" orientation.

Use a lightblue background color if the orientation is in landscape mode:

@media only screen and (orientation: landscape) {
  body {
    background-color: lightblue;
  }
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Use mediaqueries to set the text color to green when the document is displayed on the screen, and to black when it is printed:

@media screen {
body {
    color: green;
  }
}

@media print {
  body {
    color: black;
  }
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Comma separated list: add an additional media query to an already existing one, using a comma (this will behave like an OR operator):

/* When the width is between 600px and 900px OR above 1100px - change the appearance of <div> */
@media screen and (max-width: 900px) and (min-width: 600px), (min-width: 1100px) {
div.example {
    font-size: 50px;
    padding: 50px;
    border: 8px solid black;
    background: yellow;
}
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS Tutorial: CSS Media Queries

CSS Tutorial: CSS Media Queries Examples

RWD Tutorial: Responsive Web Design with Media Queries

JavaScript Tutorial: The window.matchMedia() method

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