CSS inheritance is a powerful mechanism that allows child elements to automatically adopt certain style properties from their parent elements. This concept streamlines the styling process and promotes consistency across web pages.

How CSS Inheritance Works

When a property is set on a parent element, it cascades down to its children. Not all properties are inherited, but many are, especially those related to text styling. This behavior reduces redundancy in your stylesheets and makes it easier to maintain a consistent look throughout your website.

Inherited Properties

Common inherited properties include:

color
font-family
font-size
line-height
text-align

Non-inherited Properties

Some properties, particularly those related to layout, do not inherit:

margin
padding
border
background

Example of CSS Inheritance

Let's look at a simple example to illustrate how inheritance works:


body {
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
    color: #333;
}

p {
    line-height: 1.6;
}

In this example, all text within the <body> tag will inherit the Arial font and dark gray color. Paragraphs will additionally have a line height of 1.6.

Controlling Inheritance

Sometimes, you may want to override inherited styles or force inheritance where it doesn't naturally occur. CSS provides several keywords to control inheritance:

inherit: Forces a property to inherit its value from its parent element
initial: Sets a property to its default value
unset: Removes the declaration for a property, allowing it to inherit if it naturally does so, or reverting to its initial value if it doesn't

Example of Controlling Inheritance


.parent {
    color: blue;
}

.child {
    color: inherit; /* Will be blue */
}

.another-child {
    color: initial; /* Will be the browser's default color */
}

Best Practices

Leverage inheritance to reduce redundant code and maintain consistency
Be aware of which properties inherit and which don't
Use inheritance control keywords judiciously to fine-tune your styles
Consider the impact of inheritance when troubleshooting unexpected styles

Related Concepts

To deepen your understanding of CSS inheritance, explore these related topics:

By mastering CSS inheritance, you'll write more efficient stylesheets and create more maintainable web designs. Remember that inheritance is just one piece of the CSS puzzle, but it's an essential concept for any web developer to grasp.