Add space between HTML elements only using CSS - css

Question

I have several same HTML elements going one after another:
<span>1</span>
<span>2</span>
<span>3</span>
I'm looking for the best way of adding space between the elements using CSS only
[no space] [1] [space 10px] [2] [space 10px] [3] [no space]
Additionally:
Please write down browser compatibility of your receipts
I don't want to use any additional HTML markup like
<span></span> <span></span> <span class="last_span"></span>
I don't want to use tables.
I want the first and last span to be targeted automatically by CSS.
I don't want to use JavaScript.
Optional requirement: last span can be not last child of the parent tag, but it will be the last span of the parent tag. Spans do not have any other tags between them.

Answer 1

A good way to do it is this:
span + span {
margin-left: 10px;
}
Every span preceded by a span (so, every span except the first) will have margin-left: 10px.
Here's a more detailed answer to a similar question: Separators between elements without hacks

Answer 2

Just use margin or padding.
In your specific case, you could use margin:0 10px only on the second <span>.
Here's a nice CSS 3 solution (JSFiddle):
span {
margin: 0 10px;
}
span:first-of-type {
margin-left: 0;
}
span:last-of-type {
margin-right: 0;
}
Advanced element selection using selectors like :nth-child(), :last-child, :first-of-type, etc. is supported since Internet Explorer 9.

Answer 3

Add these rules to the parent container:
display: grid
grid-auto-flow: column
grid-column-gap: 10px
A good reference: CSS Reference - A free visual guide to CSS
Browser compatibility: Browser Support for CSS Grid Layout

Answer 4

You can style elements with excluding the first one, just in one line of code:
span ~ span {
padding-left: 10px;
}
There isn't a need to change any classes.

Answer 5

You can take advantage of the fact that span is an inline element:
span{
word-spacing: 10px;
}
However, this solution will break if you have more than one word of text in your span.

Answer 6

span:not(:last-child) {
margin-right: 10px;
}

Answer 7

You can write like this:
span{
margin-left: 10px;
}
span:first-child{
margin-left: 0;
}

Answer 8

You should wrap your elements inside a container, use new CSS 3 features like CSS grid, a free course, and then use grid-gap:value that was created for your specific problem.
span{
border: 1px solid red;
}
.inRow{
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, auto);
grid-gap: 10px /* This adds space between elements, only works on grid items */
}
.inColumn{
display: grid;
grid-template-rows: repeat(auto-fill, auto);
grid-gap: 15px;
}
<div class="inrow">
<span>1</span>
<span>2</span>
<span>3</span>
</div>
<div class="inColumn">
<span>4</span>
<span>5</span>
<span>6</span>
</div>

Answer 9

If you want to align various items and you like to have the same margin around all sides, you can use the following. Each element within container, regardless of type, will receive the same surrounding margin.
.container {
display: flex;
}
.container > * {
margin: 5px;
}
If you wish to align items in a row, but have the first element touch the leftmost edge of container, and have all other elements be equally spaced, you can use this:
.container {
display: flex;
}
.container > :first-child {
margin-right: 5px;
}
.container > *:not(:first-child) {
margin: 5px;
}

Answer 10

<span> is an inline element, so you can’t make spacing on them without making it block level.
Try this:
Horizontal
span{
margin-right: 10px;
float: left;
}
Vertical
span{
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
It is compatible with all browsers.

Answer 11

Or, instead of setting margin and then overriding it, you can just set it properly right away with the following combination:
span:not(:first-of-type) {
margin-left: 5px;
}
span:not(:last-of-type) {
margin-right: 5px;
}

Answer 12

span.middle {
margin: 0 10px 0 10px; /* top right bottom left */
}
<span>text</span> <span class="middle">text</span> <span>text</span>