In this article, well use the ::selection CSS declaration to change the background color of the text that is highlighted by a user of your website.

The ::selection CSS pseudo element that adds styles to a part of your HTML that has been highlighted by the user (this includes clicking and/or dragging their mouse across text). Not all browsers will support it, but it wont hurt anything since the non-compatible browsers will just ignore it.

Advertisement

Build A Hacker News Clone

Learn how to build and deploy a full-stack, production-ready application with React.js, Node.js, and MongoDB.

View Course

For more information on browser compatibility for the ::selection declaration, check out this Mozilla documents page.

Here is the CSS code to make the magic happen:

    
      ::selection {
        background: rgb(244, 63, 75);
      }

      ::-moz-selection { /* Mozilla Firefox browser compatibility */
        background: rgb(244, 63, 75);
      }
    
  

The code above will apply the selection background color to all the HTML elements in its jurisdiction.

But you can also apply the ::selection to specific elements, classes, or IDs:

    
      /* Apply to an element id */
      #element-id::selection {
        background: #800080;
      }

      #element-id::-moz-selection {
        background: #800080;
      }

      /* Apply to an element class */
      .element-class::selection {
        background: #800080;
      }

      .element-class::-moz-selection {
        background: #800080;
      }

      /* Apply to an element */
      span::selection {
        background: #800080;
      }

      span::-moz-selection {
        background: #800080;
      }
    
  

There you have it! Go build something cool!

Thanks for reading and happy coding!