SVG elements can be styled through CSS, but attention should be paid to their unique properties and rules. 2. You can use inline styles or

Styling SVG elements with CSS is totally doable, and once you get the hang of it, it feels a lot like styling regular HTML elements. The main difference is that SVG has its own set of properties and some specific rules about how styles are applied. Let's break it down into practical parts so you can start styling SVGs confidently.

How to apply CSS styles to SVG elements

The easiest way to style an SVG element is by using inline styles or by targeting it in a <style></style> block, just like with HTML. But there are a few quirks to be aware of.

• You can use common CSS properties like fill , stroke , stroke-width , and opacity directly on SVG elements.
• Some CSS shorthand properties (like border ) don't work on SVGs — stick to SVG-specific properties instead.
• Inline styles inside the SVG tag takes precedence unless you use !important in your external CSS.

For example:

 <svg width="100" height="100">
  <circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" fill="blue" />
</svg>

You can override the blue fill from a CSS file or style block like this:

 circle {
  fill: red !important;
}

Just keep in mind: if the SVG is embedded as an <img alt="How to style SVG elements CSS tutorial" > tag or background image, CSS won't apply. To style SVGs externally, they need to be part of the DOM — either inline in the HTML or loaded via an <object> tag.

Styling SVG with classes and IDs

Using classes and IDs make it easier to target specific shapes or groups within your SVG. This works just like in HTML.

Let's say you have a group of icons inside an SVG, and each one has a class:

 <svg width="200"    style="max-width:90%">
  <circle class="icon" cx="50" cy="50" r="30" />
  <rect class="icon" x="120" y="20" width="40" height="40" />
</svg>

Now you can style both shapes at once:

 .icon {
  fill: green;
  transition: fill 0.3s ease;
}

.icon:hover {
  fill: orange;
}

This approach is super useful for things like icon sets or interactive graphics where you want hover effects or theme switching.

One thing to note: if your SVG is coming from an external file, embedded in an <img alt="How to style SVG elements CSS tutorial" > , or used as a background, those styles won't work. Again, keep your SVG inline or load it through <object> if you want full control.

Common gotchas when styling SVG with CSS

There are a few weird behaviors that trip people up when working with SVG and CSS:

• Inline attributes vs. CSS : If an SVG element has a fill="#000" set directly on the tag, CSS might not override it unless you use !important .
• Selector specification : Just like HTML, more specific selectors will win. So .group .icon might override a plain .icon rule.
• Inheritance : Some styles, like fill , can be inherited by child elements unless explicitly set otherwise.
• Units : Most of the time you don't need units for numbers like stroke-width="2" , but in CSS you might write stroke-width: 2px; .

Also, if you're trying to animate SVG elements with CSS, not all properties are hardware-accelerated like in HTML. transform and opacity usually perform best.

So yeah, styling SVG with CSS is pretty straightforward once you know the basics and a few gotchas. It's especially handy for small icons, interactive charts, or theme-based design systems. Just remember to keep your SVG inline if you want to apply external styles, and watch out for attribute vs. CSS priority.

Basically that's it.

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