CSS Selectors :nth-child() vs :nth-of-type() - what are the differences?
The article on FreeCodeCamp compares the :nth-child and :nth-of-type selectors in CSS. These selectors are crucial for styling elements in HTML documents, but they have different uses and behaviors. The :nth-child selector is used to select elements based on their position in the DOM tree, which includes all types of children. In contrast, :nth-of-type focuses only on elements of a specified type, ignoring others. The author highlights that, for instance, if we have several list items, :nth-child(2) will select the second element regardless of type, while :nth-of-type(2) will select the second element strictly of that same type. The article also illustrates these differences with code examples, making it particularly useful for CSS developers. Understanding how to use these selectors can help avoid surprises when styling complex layouts, as well as improve the efficiency and organization of CSS code.