In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the basics of underlining text using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), explore customization options, and discuss best practices for using underlines effectively. Whether you’re an Elementor user or simply interested in styling your website, this guide will provide you with the tools to master CSS underlines.

The Basics of CSS Underlining

The foundation of underlining text in CSS lies in the text-decoration property. This versatile property lets you control not only underlining but also overlines, line-throughs, and combinations thereof. Let’s focus on the core value that creates underlines:

The ‘underline’ Value

To add a basic underline to any text element, you’ll use the following CSS code:

				
					CSS
p {  /* Targets paragraph elements */
  text-decoration: underline;
}

This simple code snippet will apply an underline to all <p> elements (paragraphs) on your website. You can target different elements by replacing the selector (p in this case) with the appropriate HTML tag:

  • h1, h2, h3, etc. for headings
  • span for specific text portions within other elements
  • a for links

If you’re using the Elementor website builder, applying underlines is incredibly intuitive. Within the Elementor editor, select the text element you want to style, navigate to the “Style” tab, and you’ll find the “Text Decoration” option with ‘underline’ readily available.

Understanding Specificity: It’s important to be aware that CSS rules cascade, meaning more specific rules take precedence. If you have multiple CSS rules targeting the same element with conflicting text-decoration values, the most specific selector will win.

Targeting Specific Elements 

While you can apply underlines broadly, you’ll often want to be more selective. Using CSS classes and IDs provides granular control:

Classes

  • HTML
				
					HTML
<p class="important-text">This text will be underlined.</p>
  • CSS
				
					CSS
.important-text {
  text-decoration: underline;
}

IDs

  • HTML
				
					HTML
<h2 id="section-title">This heading is underlined.</h2>
  • CSS
				
					CSS
#section-title {
  text-decoration: underline; 
}

Key Points

  • Classes (prefixed with a . ) can be applied to multiple elements, while IDs (prefixed with a # ) should be unique on a page.
  • Elementor’s editor allows you to assign classes and IDs directly within the interface for easy styling.

Advanced Underline Customization 

Color: Styling Underlines with ‘text-decoration-color’

The default underline color typically matches the text color itself. However, the text-decoration-color property lets you get creative!

Here’s an example of underlining a heading in red:

				
					CSS
h1 {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-color: red;
}

Use Cases

  1. Branding: Match underlines to your brand colors.
  2. Emphasis: Draw attention to specific phrases with contrasting underline colors.
  3. Hover Effects: Change the underlined color when users hover over elements (often used for links).

Elementor Tip: Within Elementor’s visual editor, you’ll find the “Text Decoration Color” option alongside the main underline setting, making customization a breeze.

Style: Exploring ‘text-decoration-style’

Beyond the standard solid underline, CSS offers several styles:

  • double: Creates a double underline.
  • dotted: Renders a dotted underline.
  • dashed: Creates a dashed underline.
  • wavy: A playful, wavy underline effect.

Example:

				
					CSS
p.wavy-underline {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-style: wavy;
}

Use with Caution: Decorative underlines (dotted, dashed, wavy) should be used sparingly as they can impact readability if overused.

Thickness: Controlling Underline Thickness

The text-decoration-thickness property provides precise control over how thick your underlines appear. You can specify thickness in several ways:

  • Pixels: text-decoration-thickness: 3px;
  • Relative Units: text-decoration-thickness: 0.2em; (relative to the element’s font size)
  • Keyword: text-decoration-thickness: auto; (browser’s default)

Example:

				
					CSS
h2 { 
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-thickness: 4px;
}

Accessibility Note: Ensure sufficient underline thickness for easy visual recognition, especially for users with visual impairments.

Removing Underlines: The ‘none’ Value

Sometimes, you’ll want to remove default underlines (like on links) or override previously applied underlines. The text-decoration: none; value comes in handy for this:

				
					CSS
a { /* Targets all links */
  text-decoration: none; 
}

Common Use Case: Many websites choose to remove the default underline from links, relying on other visual cues (color changes, hover effects) to indicate clickability.

Underlining for Emphasis, Accessibility & Design 

Strategic Emphasis: Guiding User Attention

Underlines can be a powerful tool to highlight key information or call attention to specific sections of your website. Here are some common use cases:

  • Important Headings: Underline subheadings to create a visual hierarchy and guide the reader’s eye through your content.
  • Call-to-Action Buttons: underline a button’s text to encourage clicks.
  • Highlighting Keywords: Underline specific keywords within a paragraph to emphasize their importance for both users and search engines.

Accessibility Considerations

While underlines can be helpful for emphasis, it’s crucial to be mindful of accessibility:

  1. Avoid Overreliance on Color: Traditionally, underlines strongly indicate links. Users with colorblindness may struggle if you rely solely on color to differentiate clickable elements.
  2. Sufficient Contrast: Ensure your underlines have enough contrast against the background color for easy readability.
  3. Alternative Indicators: For enhanced accessibility, combine underlines with other visual cues, such as hover effects, bolding, or icons.

Underlines in Navigation Menus

Navigation menus are a prime spot to incorporate underlines for clear visual cues:

  • Active Tab Indication: Underline the currently active page or section in your navigation menu.
  • Hover Effects: Add underlines that appear when users hover over navigation links, providing further interaction feedback.

Tip: Elementor offers built-in styling options and dynamic features to customize underlines in your website’s navigation easily.

Creative Applications of Underlines

Beyond the basics, underlines can add visual flair to your website:

  1. Separating Content Sections: Use underlines in place of traditional borders or dividers to break up content areas. This can create a clean, minimalist aesthetic.
  2. Highlighting Form Fields: Underline input fields on your forms to provide a clear focus area for users.
  3. Indicating Errors: Underline invalid form entries in a contrasting color (like red) to signal areas needing correction instantly.

Elementor’s Advantage

Elementor’s intuitive visual editor allows you to experiment with these creative underline applications effortlessly. You can easily adjust colors, styles, thicknesses, and placement without needing to dive deep into the code.

Important Note: Always use underlines in a way that enhances usability and is consistent with the overall clarity of your website’s design.

Advanced CSS Properties & Techniques 

Certainly! Here are more detailed explanations and examples for the advanced CSS properties `text-decoration-skip-ink` and `text-underline-offset`:

`text-decoration-skip-ink`:

The `text-decoration-skip-ink` property allows you to control how the underline interacts with descenders in text. Descenders are the parts of letters that extend below the baseline, such as in the lowercase letters “g”, “j”, “p”, “q”, and “y”. By default, the underline is drawn continuously, even if it intersects with descenders. The `text-decoration-skip-ink` property provides options to adjust this behavior.

Example:

				
					css
p {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-skip-ink: auto;
}

The `text-decoration-skip-ink` property accepts the following values:

  •  `auto` (default): The underline will skip over descenders when it would otherwise cross over them, creating a more visually pleasing appearance.
  •  `none`: The underline will be drawn continuously, even if it intersects with descenders.
  •  `all`: The underline will skip over any part of the text, including descenders and other parts of the glyphs.

Here’s an example that demonstrates the difference between `auto` and `none`:

  • HTML
				
					html
<p class="skip-ink-auto">This text has a continuous underline that skips descenders.</p>
<p class="skip-ink-none">This text has a continuous underline that intersects with descenders.</p>
  • CSS
				
					CSS
.skip-ink-auto {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-skip-ink: auto;
}
.skip-ink-none {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-skip-ink: none;
}

In the above example, the first paragraph will have an underline that skips over the descenders, while the second paragraph will have an underline that intersects with the descenders.

`text-underline-offset`:

The `text-underline-offset` property allows you to control the distance between the underline and the text precisely. By default, the underline is placed just below the text. However, you can use `text-underline-offset` to adjust the vertical position of the underline.

Example:

				
					CSS
h2 {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-underline-offset: 5px;
}

In this example, the underline will be positioned 5 pixels below the text of the `<h2>` element. You can specify the offset value using various units such as pixels (`px`), ems (`em`), or percentages (`%`).

Here’s an example that demonstrates different offset values:

  • html
				
					html
<h2 class="offset-small">This text has a small underline offset.</h2>
<h2 class="offset-large">This text has a large underline offset.</h2>
  • CSS
				
					CSS
.offset-small {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-underline-offset: 2px;
}
.offset-large {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-underline-offset: 0.5em;
}

In the above example, the first heading will have an underline offset of 2 pixels, while the second heading will have an underline offset of 0.5 ems, which is relative to the font size of the element.

Using `text-underline-offset` can be particularly useful in scenarios where you want to create a distinct visual separation between the text and the underline or when you need to accommodate larger font sizes or specific design requirements.

By combining `text-decoration-skip-ink` and `text-underline-offset`, you can fine-tune the appearance of underlines to achieve the desired visual effect and ensure optimal readability across different text styles and font sizes.

Underlines in the Context of Web Design

Responsive Considerations

As websites need to adapt to different screen sizes, it’s essential to ensure your underlines behave responsively:

  1. Line Thickness: Test how your underline thickness scales across devices. If it’s too thick, underlines might overpower text on smaller screens.
  2. Spacing: Use text-underline-offset to maintain appropriate spacing between underlines and text on varying screen sizes.
  3. Media Queries: Employ CSS media queries to adjust underline styles for specific screen sizes if needed.

Modern Trends in Underline Usage

Web design trends are constantly evolving, and so is the use of underlines:

  1. Minimalism: Underlines often align with clean, minimalist design aesthetics, emphasizing key elements without visual clutter.
  2. Subtlety: Many websites use underlines sparingly, employing them for subtle hints or hover effects rather than as the primary link indicator.
  3. Creative Flair: Designers sometimes experiment with double underlines, dashed underlines, or underlines positioned further away from the text as a unique stylistic touch.

Best Practices for Effective Underlines

To ensure your use of underlines enhances your website’s design:

  1. Consistency: Establish a clear visual language for how you use underlines (color, thickness, style) throughout your site.
  2. Clarity: Avoid using underlines in a way that confuses users or disrupts the reading flow.
  3. Don’t Overdo It: Excessive underlining can make your website look cluttered and unprofessional.

The Elementor Advantage

Elementor website builder empowers you to implement these design principles with ease:

  1. Responsive Controls: Fine-tune the appearance of underlines across different devices directly within Elementor’s editor.
  2. Global Styling: Set site-wide underline preferences to maintain consistency and streamline your design process.
  3. Theme Builder Integration: Control how underlines appear throughout your entire WordPress theme for a cohesive look.

Beyond Underlining: Elementor’s Website Building Power 

While we’ve focused on mastering underlines, it’s important to remember they are just one tool in your web design arsenal. Elementor website builder unlocks a vast array of possibilities to elevate your entire website:

  • Custom Fonts and Typography: Choose fonts that pair beautifully with your underline styles and enhance your website’s overall personality.
  • Flexible Layouts: Experiment with grids, columns, and spacing to create layouts where your underlines perfectly complement the surrounding content.
  • Visual Effects: Combine underlines with backgrounds, shadows, animations, and other elements to achieve unique and eye-catching designs.
  • Complete Design System: Elementor’s global styling system ensures consistency across your site. Underlines become an integral part of your cohesive visual language.

Conclusion 

Throughout this guide, we’ve explored the world of CSS underlines – from the basics to advanced customization and design considerations. Underlines, whether simple or stylized, can be a versatile tool to guide attention, enhance visual hierarchy, and add a touch of personality to your website.

Remember these key takeaways:

  1. Intentional Use: Employ underlines strategically to support your website’s design goals rather than relying on them indiscriminately.
  2. Accessibility in Mind: Always consider accessibility when using underlines, maintaining clear contrast, and providing alternative visual cues when necessary.
  3. The Power of CSS: CSS gives you granular control over the appearance and behavior of underlines.

With Elementor website builder, you have the ideal platform to bring your underlying concepts to life. Elementor’s intuitive tools empower you to experiment, customize, and seamlessly integrate underlines into your overall web design.