What is the difference between inline, internal, and external CSS

inline CSS, internal CSS, external CSS, web design, stylesheets
This content provides a brief overview of the differences between inline, internal, and external CSS, which are fundamental concepts in web design.

CSS can be applied to HTML in three primary ways:

Inline CSS

Inline CSS is applied directly to HTML elements using the style attribute. This method allows you to apply styles to a single element, but it is not recommended for large projects due to the lack of reusability.


<div style="color: red; font-size: 20px;">This is an inline styled text.</div>

Internal CSS

Internal CSS is defined in the <style> tag within the <head> section of an HTML document. This approach allows you to apply styles to multiple elements within the same document.


<head>
    <style>
        body {
            background-color: lightblue;
        }
        h1 {
            color: navy;
        }
    </style>
</head>

External CSS

External CSS is linked to an HTML file through a separate CSS file, which allows you to maintain and manage styles across multiple pages easily. This method is preferred for larger websites due to its maintainability.


<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles.css">

inline CSS internal CSS external CSS web design stylesheets

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