Introduction
Padding and Margin are terms related to CSS which are used in designing a website. They are used to design user interfaces. Their functions sound the same on the surface level, but there are significant differences in both of them because of which, many a time, there is confusion regarding both of their usages. Both of them have the function of providing a required gap or space between objects, and they both concentrate on all four sides of an element. So, knowing them well is a must to make good decisions for designing a website. Padding is used when a space needs to be created within an element between the content of the element and its borderline. Margin, on the other hand, is used when there is more than one element in the page, and this creates space between both the elements, between the border of one element and the border of another element.
Padding vs Margin
Padding and Margine are both related to creating gaps, which is why many a time they are confused with one another. In CSS, padding is the option of creating a space between an element's content and the element's border. So, it is in charge of controlling the space gap within an element, whereas the option of Margin controls the space outside an element. Margin creates space when there is more than one element. It creates space between the border of one element and the border of another element. Pixels, ems, or other units of length are used for measuring padding and margin.
Difference Between Padding and Margin in Tabular Form
| Parameters of Comparison | Padding | Margin |
| Meaning | Padding refers to the space between the content of an element and its border. | Margin refers to the gap between the border of two elements. |
| Location of Space | It deals with the space gap present within an element. | It deals with the space gap outside the element. |
| Styling Element | Any internal styling element affects padding such as background colour | Internal styling elements like background color do not affect a margin |
| Setting For Automation | Automation is not available for padding. | Margin can be automated. |
| Numerical Value | Positive real numbers are only eligible for padding values | Integers however are the numerical value of margins |
| Size Value | The padding value is used to control the size of the element. | The margin value uses inverse properties where a decrease in the value increases the margin line and vice versa. |
What is Padding?
Padding is the space that exists between the border of an element and the content of that element. The element can be a design, a text, or a box, and the content inside the element can be images or any other display objects or a text itself. It is like a box on a page containing content that can be an image, and padding is exactly the space between the box and the image. The box is the element here. The space of padding can be found on all sides of an element. Padding can be used to determine the look of an element within a container and how it fits within that container. The area around the content is cleared by padding, so it gets affected by background colors.
The padding creates the space between the content and the border of the element by either diminishing the content size inside the element or by increasing the element size itself. The element size increases by default. Pixels, ems, and other units of length can be used for measuring padding. When the design of an individual element is adjusted then padding is used. Moreover, the thickness of the element's border does not depend on the padding option. There is a separate setting for this property, and its values can be altered. In the case of padding, positive real numbers are its numerical value. Padding is used to modify the looks of content within an element. Some of the uses of padding are: -
- Adding Space Inside Elements
- Changing an Element Size
Adding Space Inside Elements
The most significant and common use of padding is creating a whitespace inside an element between the element's border and the content of the element. Padding is known only for this purpose.
Changing an Element Size
The padding value changes the size of the element. Increasing it increases the size of the element and adds more white space around the content of an element. This leads to an expansion in the clickable area so that buttons can be added there. The increase in element size is the default option, but the content size can also be changed here by modifying the setting.
The designer should always remember that whenever an item's total width is to be depicted, only then padding is calculated. But if the designer is working with images having a transparent background, then this is not important for him to remember. This is because images with a transparent background are capable of fitting in any place, which makes it irrelevant to do padding. Designing a page consists of padding, and it is a significant part of designing, which is why the colors and gradients of the padding can be done according to the wish of the user. The padding should also be made attractive with a colorful design and should not be left white because this would make the whole design useless and would let down the appeal of the entire design. This is the reason why the designer adjusts the padding according to the other design requirements to fine-tune it, so it is not automated.
Types of Padding
The design interface provides the user with four padding options which are right padding, left padding, top padding, and bottom padding. The names of the types may vary from platform to platform, but all of their purpose is the same.
What is Margin?
Margin refers to the space between the borders of two elements. For a margin to exist, there should be more than one element. It is like the space that exists between the borders of two boxes containing separate contents. The element can be a particular design, text, or document, and the white area exists between this and the outer part of the design interface. The space of a margin becomes a padding space when more than one external border of a page exists, and in that case, the space between the first external border and the second external border becomes the margin. But such kind of cases are rare. They are only used where the designs are very intricate to make the separation between the element and the outer area clear. Margins, also like padding, can be measured by using pixels, ems, and other units of measuring length.
The line of a margin decreases in size when its value increases, and simultaneously, the size of a margin line increases when the margin value decreases. So, the relation is inversed. Margins unlike padding can be automatically set because the amount of margin gap to be left for the document to look presentable is decided by the browser. The margins do not seem to have a noticeable impact when the design is exported, unlike padding. The numerical values of margins are integers. Margins are used to depict how much space an element should be surrounded with. Some of the uses of Margin are: -
- Changing the Position of an Element on the Page
- The Distance Between More than One Element can be Set
- Overlapping Elements
Changing the Position of an Element on the Page
An element can be moved left or right or up or down with the help of Margins. An element can be simply horizontally centered if the page width is already fixed. The user just needs to give the value of the margin as auto.
The Distance Between More than One Element can be Set
The amount of whitespace to be present between any two elements or between adjacent elements is determined by margins. A webpage can be made visually appealing by keeping more whitespace.
Overlapping Elements
The page elements can be overlapped by using a negative margin value, and with the help of this, a broken grid effect can be achieved.
Types of Margin
The margin covers four sides of an element, so the four types of a margin are top margin, bottom margin, left margin, and right margin. The names of the different types of margins also, like padding, can vary from one design interface to the other. The directions of margins are also user-centric like padding.
Main Differences Between Padding and Margin (In Points)
- The primary difference between padding and margin is that padding refers to the space between the border of an element and the content of that element. It is like if a box is an element containing the content of an image or if a textbox is an element containing text as the content, then the space between the image or the text and the border of the box is the padding. Padding deals with the space present inside an element. Margin, however deals with the space outside an element. When there is more than one element, then the margin comes into use because it refers to the space between the borders of two or more elements.
- Internal styling elements like background color affect padding, but they do not affect margins. The look of an element in a container and how it fits within the particular container can be determined by padding. It clears the area surrounding the content and creates a whitespace around the content, which is why it is bound to get affected by padding. However, this is not the case in the case of margins, as they do not undergo any noticeable impact even when the design is exported.
- Padding cannot be automated as it is an important part of designing. The user needs to choose what he wants to give in the color and pattern of the padding. It should be made attractive and appealing with colorful designs and should not be left bland and white because this would then put down the show of the entire design. So, the padding is adjusted by the designer manually to fit with the other designs and fine-tuned, which is why it is not automated. Margins, however, can be automated because the browser decides how much of a margin gap is to be left in the document to make it more presentable which is why it is not manually handled.
- The numerical values for padding are positive real number values, whereas the margin has integers as the numerical value. Both padding and margins are measured in ems, pixels, and other units of measuring length. The padding value increases the size of the element and adds more white space around the content. Increasing it increases the size of the element, and this is the default option, but the content size can also be changed here by modifying the setting. In the case of margins, on the other hand, this is inversed. The size of a margin line increases when the margin value is decreased, and the size of a margin line decreases when the margin value is increased.
Conclusion
Hence, padding and margin are both related to CSS. The full form of CSS is Cascading Style Sheets. It can be considered the most popular programming language and is used in HTML to make visual elements lively. Padding and Margin are both related to space creation and may also sound the same, but they have their purposes. Padding specifically refers to the space inside an element, the space between an element's border and its content, whereas margin refers to the space outside an element and between the borders of two or more elements. Both of them are used for design purposes on a webpage.
References
- https://mailchimp.com/resources/padding-vs-margin/
- https://blog.hubspot.com/website/css-margin-vs-padding
- https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/css-margin-vs-padding-what-is-the-difference/
