Native Styles

CSS Utilities

Native Styles

Native styles use design tokens to spruce up native HTML elements so that they match the look and feel of your theme. While these native styles are completely optional, they're a great starting point for a cohesive design and a huge help when using a combination of native elements and Web Awesome components in your project.

Using native styles

Link to This Section

CDN

npm

Self-Hosted

Head over to your project's Settings.
Next to Features, select the Native styles checkbox.
Save Changes to immediately update anywhere you're using your project.

To use all Web Awesome styles (including utilities), import the following stylesheet in your project:

import '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/styles/webawesome.css';

Or, if you only want styles for native elements, import a theme and native styles individually:

import '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/styles/themes/default.css';
import '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/styles/native.css';

To use all Web Awesome styles (including utilities), include the following stylesheet in your project:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/dist/styles/webawesome.css" />

Or, if you only want styles for native elements, include a theme and native styles individually:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/dist/styles/themes/default.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/dist/styles/native.css" />

You can additionally include any pre-made theme or color palette to change the look of native elements.

Opting out of native styles

Link to This Section

If you want to keep Web Awesome's components, tokens, and utilities but let a native element fall back to browser defaults, reset that element in your own stylesheet.

<div class="wa-cluster wa-align-items-center">
  <button type="button">Styled by native.css</button>
  <button type="button" class="native-reset">Browser default button</button>
</div>

<style>
  .native-reset {
    all: revert;
    font: inherit;
  }
</style>

Use all: revert on the exact element you want to opt out of native styles. Re-apply any properties you still want to inherit from your app, such as font.

To opt out for an entire section, apply the same reset within a wrapper and target only the native elements in that area.

.native-reset-zone :where(button, input, select, textarea, table, details, dialog, progress) {
  all: revert;
  font: inherit;
}

If your app has separate page-level entry points, the simplest page-level opt-out is to not load native.css on pages that should keep browser defaults. You can still load your theme, components, and any utilities you want on those pages.

Content flow

Link to This Section

Native styles set default space between many block-level HTML elements using the --wa-content-spacing token from your theme. This helps ensure that your content is readable.

Content flows naturally

Native styles set consistent spacing between block-level elements using your theme's design tokens. This means headings, paragraphs, lists, and other elements look great together without extra effort.

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.

Spacing is controlled by the --wa-content-spacing token, so you can easily adjust it to match your design. Set it to zero if you prefer to handle spacing yourself.

Aenean imperdiet
Vivamus consectetur at est
Quisque vel leo in leo semper

<h3>Content flows naturally</h3>
<p>
  Native styles set consistent spacing between block-level elements using your theme's design tokens. This means
  headings, paragraphs, lists, and other elements look great together without extra effort.
</p>
<blockquote>
  The Road goes ever on and on<br />
  Out from the door where it began.
</blockquote>
<p>
  Spacing is controlled by the <code>--wa-content-spacing</code> token, so you can easily adjust it to match your
  design. Set it to zero if you prefer to handle spacing yourself.
</p>
<hr />
<ul>
  <li>Aenean imperdiet</li>
  <li>Vivamus consectetur at est</li>
  <li>Quisque vel leo in leo semper</li>
</ul>

To remove this default spacing, you can set --wa-content-spacing: 0 in your styles.

Typography

Link to This Section

Native styles use typography design tokens to style text elements. A number of styles — such as color, font-family, font-size, font-weight, and line-height — are set on the <body> element to be inherited by child elements.

Headings

Link to This Section

Create headings with <h1> through <h6>. Headings use tokens with the -heading suffix, condensed line height, and text-wrap: balance for a prominent yet compact appearance.

                  Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6

<h1>Heading 1</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>
<h4>Heading 4</h4>
<h5>Heading 5</h5>
<h6>Heading 6</h6>

Paragraphs

Link to This Section

Create paragraphs with <p>. Paragraphs inherit the default text styles set on the <body> element and use text-wrap: pretty to prevent orphaned lines in supported browsers.

Paragraphs inherit the default text styles set on the body element, including font family, size, weight, and line height. They also use text-wrap: pretty to prevent orphaned lines in supported browsers.

You can have as many paragraphs as you need and they'll maintain consistent spacing between them. Native styles ensure everything stays readable and well-proportioned, no matter how much content you throw at it.

<p>
  Paragraphs inherit the default text styles set on the body element, including font family, size, weight, and line
  height. They also use <code>text-wrap: pretty</code> to prevent orphaned lines in supported browsers.
</p>

<p>
  You can have as many paragraphs as you need and they'll maintain consistent spacing between them. Native styles ensure
  everything stays readable and well-proportioned, no matter how much content you throw at it.
</p>

Blockquotes

Link to This Section

Emphasize longer quotations with <blockquote>. Block quotes use your theme's serif font family and a leading border to stand out.

                  
  What is a Web year now, about three months? And when people can browse around, discover new things, and download them
  fast, when we all have agents - then Web years could slip by before human beings can notice.

  — Tim Berners-Lee

<blockquote>
  What is a Web year now, about three months? And when people can browse around, discover new things, and download them
  fast, when we all have agents - then Web years could slip by before human beings can notice.<br /><br />
  — Tim Berners-Lee
</blockquote>

Lists

Link to This Section

Create ordered and unordered lists with <ol> and <ul>, plus <li> for list items within.

  First item

      Another item
      Nested item
Another nested item

Final item

  First item

      Another item
      Nested item
Another nested item

Final item

<div class="wa-grid">
  <ol>
    <li>First item</li>
    <li>
      Another item
      <ol>
        <li>Nested item</li>
        <li>Another nested item</li>
      </ol>
    </li>
    <li>Final item</li>
  </ol>

  <ul>
    <li>First item</li>
    <li>
      Another item
      <ul>
        <li>Nested item</li>
        <li>Another nested item</li>
      </ul>
    </li>
    <li>Final item</li>
  </ul>
</div>

Use <dl> to create lists of terms (<dt>) and definitions (<dd>).

                  
  Web Components
  
    A set of web platform APIs that let you create custom, reusable HTML elements. They work across frameworks and
    browsers, making them ideal for building design systems and component libraries.
  
  Shadow DOM
  
    A browser feature that lets you attach a hidden DOM tree to an element. This keeps your component's styles and
    markup encapsulated, so they won't accidentally interfere with the rest of the page.
  
  Custom Elements
  
    A JavaScript API that lets you define new HTML tags with their own behavior. Once registered, you can use them
    anywhere in your markup just like built-in elements.

<dl>
  <dt>Web Components</dt>
  <dd>
    A set of web platform APIs that let you create custom, reusable HTML elements. They work across frameworks and
    browsers, making them ideal for building design systems and component libraries.
  </dd>
  <dt>Shadow DOM</dt>
  <dd>
    A browser feature that lets you attach a hidden DOM tree to an element. This keeps your component's styles and
    markup encapsulated, so they won't accidentally interfere with the rest of the page.
  </dd>
  <dt>Custom Elements</dt>
  <dd>
    A JavaScript API that lets you define new HTML tags with their own behavior. Once registered, you can use them
    anywhere in your markup just like built-in elements.
  </dd>
</dl>

Code blocks

Link to This Section

Create code blocks or other preformatted text with <pre>. Preformatted text uses your theme's monospace font family and a subtle background color.

                  // do a thing
export function thing() {
  return true;
}

<pre>
// do a thing
export function thing() {
  return true;
}
</pre>

Inline text

Link to This Section

Use any inline text element like <strong>, <em>, <a>, <kbd>, and others to stylize or emphasize text.

Bold Italic Underline ~~Strike-through~~ ~~Deleted~~ Inserted Small

Subscript _Sub Superscript ^Sup Abbr. Highlighted Link text Inline code Keyboard

<div class="wa-grid">
  <div class="wa-stack wa-align-items-start">
    <strong>Bold</strong>
    <em>Italic</em>
    <u>Underline</u>
    <s>Strike-through</s>
    <del>Deleted</del>
    <ins>Inserted</ins>
    <small>Small</small>
  </div>
  <div class="wa-stack wa-align-items-start">
    <span>Subscript <sub>Sub</sub></span>
    <span>Superscript <sup>Sup</sup></span>
    <abbr title="Abbreviation">Abbr.</abbr>
    <mark>Highlighted</mark>
    <a href="#">Link text</a>
    <code>Inline code</code>
    <kbd>Keyboard</kbd>
  </div>
</div>

Widgets & media

Link to This Section

Media

Link to This Section

Add responsive media with <img>, <svg>, <video>, <iframe>, and others. Media takes up 100% width by default and scales according to its container's width.

<img
  src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1620196244888-d31ff5bbf163?q=80&w=1000&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D"
  alt="A gray kitten lays next to a toy"
/>

Tables

Link to This Section

Structure tabular data with <table> and related elements like <caption>, <thead>, <tbody>, <th>, <tr>, and <td>.

                  
    This
    <caption>
    describes the table
  
      First column
      Second column
      Third column
      Final column
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data

This `<caption>` describes the table
First column	Second column	Third column	Final column
Data	Data	Data	Data
Data	Data	Data	Data
Data	Data	Data	Data
Data	Data	Data	Data

<table>
  <caption>
    This
    <code>&lt;caption&gt;</code>
    describes the table
  </caption>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>First column</th>
      <th>Second column</th>
      <th>Third column</th>
      <th>Final column</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Add the wa-hover-rows class to highlight table rows on hover and the wa-zebra-rows class to add alternating row colors to your table.

                  
      First column
      Second column
      Third column
      Final column
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data
    
      Data
      Data
      Data
      Data

First column	Second column	Third column	Final column
Data	Data	Data	Data
Data	Data	Data	Data
Data	Data	Data	Data
Data	Data	Data	Data

<table class="wa-zebra-rows wa-hover-rows">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>First column</th>
      <th>Second column</th>
      <th>Third column</th>
      <th>Final column</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Details

Link to This Section

Create disclosure widgets with <details> and <summary>. Details closely match the appearance of <wa-details>.

Summary

Click the summary to expand and reveal this content. Native details elements are styled to closely match the appearance of the <wa-details> component, so they fit right in with the rest of your UI.

<details>
  <summary>Summary</summary>
  <p>
    Click the summary to expand and reveal this content. Native details elements are styled to closely match the
    appearance of the <code>&lt;wa-details&gt;</code> component, so they fit right in with the rest of your UI.
  </p>
</details>

Dialog

Link to This Section

Create modal and non-modal dialog boxes with <dialog>. Dialogs closely match the appearance of <wa-dialog>.

<dialog id="dialog-example">
  <p>This is a native dialog element styled to match Web Awesome components.</p>
  <button type="button">Close</button>
</dialog>

<button>Open Dialog</button>

<script>
  const dialog = document.querySelector('#dialog-example');
  const openButton = dialog.nextElementSibling;
  const closeButton = dialog.querySelector('button');

  openButton.addEventListener('click', () => dialog.showModal());
  closeButton.addEventListener('click', () => dialog.close());
</script>

Progress

Link to This Section

Create progress indicators with <progress>. Progress indicators closely match the appearance of <wa-progress-bar>.

<progress value="40" max="100"></progress>
<br />
<progress></progress>

Forms

Link to This Section

Native styles use form control design tokens to style form elements like buttons and inputs. Form elements additionally inherit font-family from the <body> element.

Buttons

Link to This Section

Create buttons with <button> or <input type="button | submit | reset">. Buttons closely match the appearance of <wa-button>.

<button>Button</button>
<input type="button" value="Input (button)" />
<input type="submit" value="Input (submit)" />
<input type="reset" value="Input (reset)" />

To create links that look like buttons, add the wa-button class to an <a> element.

Link Button

<a href="" class="wa-button">Link Button</a>

Add the wa-brand, wa-neutral, wa-success, wa-warning, or wa-danger class to specify the button's color variant.

<button class="wa-neutral">Neutral</button>
<button class="wa-brand">Brand</button>
<button class="wa-success">Success</button>
<button class="wa-warning">Warning</button>
<button class="wa-danger">Danger</button>

Add the wa-accent, wa-filled, wa-outlined, or wa-plain class to specify the button's visual appearance.

<button class="wa-accent wa-neutral">Accent</button>
<button class="wa-filled wa-outlined wa-neutral">Filled + Outlined</button>
<button class="wa-filled wa-neutral">Filled</button>
<button class="wa-outlined wa-neutral">Outlined</button>
<button class="wa-plain wa-neutral">Plain</button>

Add a wa-size-* class to specify the size of the button. Available sizes are wa-size-xs, wa-size-s, wa-size-m, wa-size-l, and wa-size-xl.

<button class="wa-size-xs">Extra Small</button>
<button class="wa-size-s">Small</button>
<button class="wa-size-m">Medium</button>
<button class="wa-size-l">Large</button>
<button class="wa-size-xl">Extra Large</button>

Add the wa-pill class to give buttons rounded edges.

<button class="wa-pill">Pill button</button>

When using <wa-icon> within a button, wrap adjacent label text in <span> or similar to automatically add margin between the icon and the label, just like the start and end slots of <wa-button>.

<button>
  <wa-icon name="plane-departure"></wa-icon>
  <span>Start Icon</span>
</button>
<button>
  <span>End Icon</span>
  <wa-icon name="plane-arrival"></wa-icon>
</button>

Form controls

Link to This Section

Create a variety of form controls with <input type="">, <select>, and <textarea>. Each control closely matches the appearance of the corresponding Web Awesome component.

Text Date Time Number Color File Range Select Textarea

Checked Indeterminate Unchecked

First radio Second radio Third radio

<div class="wa-stack">
  <label>Text <input type="text" placeholder="add some text" /></label>
  <label>Date <input type="date" /></label>
  <label>Time <input type="time" /></label>
  <label>Number <input type="number" placeholder="12345" /></label>
  <label>Color <input type="color" value="#f36944" /></label>
  <label>File <input type="file" multiple /></label>
  <label>Range <input type="range" /></label>
  <label
    >Select
    <select>
      <option value="option-1">Option 1</option>
      <option value="option-2">Option 2</option>
      <option value="option-3">Option 3</option>
    </select>
  </label>
  <label>Textarea <textarea placeholder="add more text"></textarea></label>
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label><input type="checkbox" checked /> Checked</label>
    <label><input type="checkbox" class="indeterminate" /> Indeterminate</label>
    <label><input type="checkbox" /> Unchecked</label>
  </div>
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label><input type="radio" name="radio-group" value="1" checked /> First radio</label>
    <label><input type="radio" name="radio-group" value="2" /> Second radio</label>
    <label><input type="radio" name="radio-group" value="3" /> Third radio</label>
  </div>
</div>

<script>
  document.querySelector('.indeterminate').indeterminate = true;
</script>

Add a wa-size-* class to any form control or its parent <label> to specify its size. Available sizes are wa-size-xs, wa-size-s, wa-size-m, wa-size-l, and wa-size-xl.

<div class="wa-stack">
  <input type="text" placeholder="Extra small input" class="wa-size-xs" />
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label class="wa-size-xs"><input type="checkbox" checked /> Extra small checkbox</label>
    <label class="wa-size-xs"><input type="radio" name="radio-xs" value="1" checked /> Extra small radio</label>
  </div>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Small input" class="wa-size-s" />
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label class="wa-size-s"><input type="checkbox" checked /> Small checkbox</label>
    <label class="wa-size-s"><input type="radio" name="radio-small" value="1" checked /> Small radio</label>
  </div>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Medium input" class="wa-size-m" />
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label class="wa-size-m"><input type="checkbox" checked /> Medium checkbox</label>
    <label class="wa-size-m"><input type="radio" name="radio-medium" value="1" checked /> Medium radio</label>
  </div>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Large input" class="wa-size-l" />
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label class="wa-size-l"><input type="checkbox" checked /> Large checkbox</label>
    <label class="wa-size-l"><input type="radio" name="radio-large" value="1" checked /> Large radio</label>
  </div>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Extra large input" class="wa-size-xl" />
  <div class="wa-cluster">
    <label class="wa-size-xl"><input type="checkbox" checked /> Extra large checkbox</label>
    <label class="wa-size-xl"><input type="radio" name="radio-xl" value="1" checked /> Extra large radio</label>
  </div>
</div>

Add the wa-filled class to an input to give it a filled background.

<div class="wa-stack">
  <input type="text" placeholder="Filled input" class="wa-filled" />
  <select class="wa-filled">
    <option value="filled">Filled select</option>
  </select>
  <textarea placeholder="Filled textarea" class="wa-filled"></textarea>
</div>

Add the wa-pill class to an input or select to give it rounded edges.

<div class="wa-stack">
  <input type="text" placeholder="Pill input" class="wa-pill" />
  <select class="wa-pill">
    <option value="pill">Pill select</option>
  </select>
</div>

Add any button modifier class to <input type="file"> to change the file selector button's color variant, appearance, size, and shape.

<input type="file" class="wa-filled wa-outlined wa-warning wa-size-s wa-pill" />

Fieldsets

Link to This Section

Group form controls together with <fieldset> and <legend>.

Legend King Arthur Robin Hood Odysseus

<fieldset class="wa-stack wa-align-items-start">
  <legend>Legend</legend>
  <label><input type="radio" name="legends" value="1" checked /> King Arthur</label>
  <label><input type="radio" name="legends" value="2" /> Robin Hood</label>
  <label><input type="radio" name="legends" value="3" /> Odysseus</label>
</fieldset>

Form layouts

Link to This Section

Wrap form controls in a flex container to arrange them horizontally or vertically with even spacing. Layout utility classes like wa-cluster and wa-stack can be added directly to a <fieldset> or <form> to make this especially easy.

Ducks in a row Mallard Common Loon Least Grebe

<fieldset class="wa-cluster">
  <legend>Ducks in a row</legend>
  <label><input type="checkbox" checked /> Mallard</label>
  <label><input type="checkbox" /> Common Loon</label>
  <label><input type="checkbox" /> Least Grebe</label>
</fieldset>

<br />

<form class="wa-stack">
  <label>Number of pancakes <input type="number" value="5" /></label>
  <label
    >Syrup flavor
    <select>
      <option value="maple">Maple</option>
      <option value="strawberry">Strawberry</option>
      <option value="blueberry">Blueberry</option>
      <option value="pecan">Butter pecan</option>
    </select>
  </label>
  <label><input type="checkbox" checked /> Add whipped butter</label>
  <button>
    <wa-icon name="layer-group"></wa-icon>
    Stack 'em up
  </button>
</form>

Getting Started

Resources

Theming & Utilities

Components

Data Visualization Pro Data Visualization components require access to Web Awesome Pro

Form Controls

Utility Components

Legal Stuff

Web Awesome

Using native styles

Opting out of native styles

Content flow

Content flows naturally

Typography

Headings

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Paragraphs

Blockquotes

Lists

Code blocks

Inline text

Widgets & media

Media

Tables

Details

Dialog

Progress

Forms

Buttons

Form controls

Fieldsets

Form layouts

Getting Started

Resources

Theming & Utilities

Components

Data Visualization Pro Data Visualization components require access to Web Awesome Pro

Form Controls

Utility Components

Legal Stuff

Web Awesome

Web Awesome Elsewhere

Native Styles

Using native styles

Opting out of native styles

Content flow

Content flows naturally

Typography

Headings

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Paragraphs

Blockquotes

Lists

Code blocks

Inline text

Widgets & media

Media

Tables

Details

Dialog

Progress

Forms

Buttons

Form controls

Fieldsets

Form layouts