Add space between <li> elements - css

Question

I have a nav-menu on which it seems that I can't add a space (margin: 3px;) between the <li> elements.
You can see the HTML and CSS code on this jsfiddle or below.
You will see that I've added a border-bottom: 2px solid #fff; to the #access li to simulate the space between elements, but that is not going to work because under the nav-menu I will have a bunch of different colors. If I add margin-button: 2px it doesn't work.
This is the HTML:
<nav id="access" role="navigation">
<div class="menu-header-menu-container">
<ul id="menu-header-menu" class="menu">
<li id="menu-item-41" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-41">
About Us
</li>
<li id="menu-item-35" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-35">
Services
</li>
<li id="menu-item-34" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-34">
Environmental Surface Cleaning
</li>
<li id="menu-item-33" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-33">
Regulations
</li>
<li id="menu-item-32" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-32">
Contact Us
</li>
</ul>
</div>
This is the CSS:
#access {
background: #0f84e8; /* Show a solid color for older browsers */
display: block;
margin: 0 auto 6px 55px;
position: absolute;
top: 100px;
z-index: 9999;
}
#access ul {
font-size: 13px;
list-style: none;
margin: 0 0 0 -0.8125em;
padding-left: 0;
}
#access li {
position: relative;
padding-left: 11px;
}
#access a {
border-bottom: 2px solid #fff;
color: #eee;
display: block;
line-height: 3.333em;
padding: 0 10px 0 20px;
text-decoration: none;
}
#access li:hover > a,
#access ul ul :hover > a,
#access a:focus {
background: #efefef;
}
#access li:hover > a,
#access a:focus {
background: #f9f9f9; /* Show a solid color for older browsers */
background: -moz-linear-gradient(#f9f9f9, #e5e5e5);
background: -o-linear-gradient(#f9f9f9, #e5e5e5);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 0%, 0% 100%, from(#f9f9f9), to(#e5e5e5)); /* Older webkit syntax */
background: -webkit-linear-gradient(#f9f9f9, #e5e5e5);
color: #373737;
}
#access ul li:hover > ul {
display: block;
}

Answer 1

UPDATE 2021
My original answer was from 2012 when many of the Level 3 CSS Selectors did not exist. To achieve this we would need JS or other explicit CSS styles/classes to achieve it. As #AlphaX has pointed out the best solution now is simply
li.menu-item:not(:last-child) {
margin-bottom: 3px;
}
OLD ANSWER
add:
margin: 0 0 3px 0;
to your #access li and move
background: #0f84e8; /* Show a solid color for older browsers */
to the #access a and take out the border-bottom. Then it will work
Here: http://jsfiddle.net/bpmKW/4/

Answer 2

You can use the margin property:
li.menu-item {
margin:0 0 10px 0;
}
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/UAXyd/

Answer 3

There is a powerful feature of flex that allows for specifying space between every child without having to reference the "last-child" through gap. I find myself using more often than margin at this point:
ul {
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
gap: 10px;
}
Example
li {
background: red;
}
ul {
background: silver;
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
gap: 10px;
}
<ul>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
<li>Item 3</li>
<li>Item 4</li>
<li>Item 5</li>
</ul>

Answer 4

Since you are asking for space between , I would add an override to the last item to get rid of the extra margin there:
li {
background: red;
margin-bottom: 40px;
}
li:last-child {
margin-bottom: 0px;
}
ul {
background: silver;
padding: 1px;
padding-left: 40px;
}
<ul>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 1</li>
</ul>
The result of it might not be visual at all times, because of margin-collapsing and stuff... in the example snippets I've included, I've added a small 1px padding to the ul-element to prevent the collapsing. Try removing the li:last-child-rule, and you'll see that the last item now extends the size of the ul-element.

Answer 5

Most answers here are not correct as they would add bottom space to the last <li> as well, so they are not adding space ONLY in between <li> !
The most accurate and efficient solution is the following:
li.menu-item:not(:last-child) {
margin-bottom: 3px;
}
Explanation:
by using :not(:last-child) the style will be applie to all items (li.menu-item) but the last one.

Answer 6

Simple and fast. Just put css into ul element (the 'gap' property defines space between li elements):
display: flex;
align-items: flex-start;
flex-direction: column;
gap: 40px;

Answer 7

#access a {
border-bottom: 2px solid #fff;
color: #eee;
display: block;
line-height: 3.333em;
padding: 0 10px 0 20px;
text-decoration: none;
}
I see that you had used line-height but you gave it to <a> tag instead of <ul>
Try this:
#access ul {line-height:3.333em;}
You wouldn't need to play with margins then.

Answer 8

I just want to say guys:
Only Play With Margin
It is a lot easier to add space between <li> if you play with margin.