Use CSS pseudo-element::-webkit-scrollbar to customize scrollbar styles, 1. Set scrollbar width; 2. Define track background color; 3. Set slider color and rounded corners; 4. Add hover effect; 5. Apply styles to specific containers. Firefox uses scrollbar-width and scrollbar-color for simple control. IE/old browsers need to accept the default style or use plug-ins instead. Hide the scroll bar to set display: none, and pay attention to color matching and responsive design, and beautify it moderately to enhance the experience.

The default style of the browser scrollbars tends to appear monotonous, while CSS provides pseudo-elements that allow us to customize the appearance of the scrollbars. This method is better supported in WebKit-based browsers such as Chrome and Edge, but may not work in Firefox or older browsers, and needs to be handled or accepted separately.

How to use ::-webkit-scrollbar pseudo-element

WebKit kernel browsers (such as Chrome and Safari) support customizing various parts of the scrollbar through ::-webkit-scrollbar pseudo-element. You can modify the style of scroll bar tracks, sliders, up and down arrows, etc.

The basic structure is as follows:

 ::-webkit-scrollbar {
  width: 8px; /* scroll bar width*/
}

::-webkit-scrollbar-track {
  background: #f1f1f1; /* track background color*/
}

::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {
  background: /* slider color*/
  border-radius: 4px; /* rounded corner*/
}

::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:hover {
  background: #555; /* Color when hovering*/
}

If you just want to set scrollbar styles for a specific container, instead of taking effect globally, you can write this:

 .container::-webkit-scrollbar {
  width: 6px;
}

Compatibility issues and response strategies

Currently only WebKit browsers support ::-webkit-scrollbar , which means that these styles will not work in Firefox or IE.

Firefox Solution:

Firefox uses scrollbar-width and scrollbar-color properties for simple control:

 /* Firefox */
.container {
  scrollbar-width: thin; /* Optional value: auto / thin / none */
  scrollbar-color: #888 #f1f1f1; /* slider color track color*/
}

It should be noted that these properties of Firefox can only be adjusted in limited ways and cannot implement fine style control like WebKit.

IE/Old Browser:

For unsupported browsers, it is common to accept the default style, or replace native scrollbars with JavaScript plugins (such as Perfect Scrollbar or OverlayScrollbars), but this increases page complexity and load time.

Practical tips and precautions

• Hide scrollbar but retain scrolling function
  Sometimes you want to visually hide the scrollbar but still allow content to scroll, which can be done by (for WebKit browsers):

   .container::-webkit-scrollbar {
    display: none;
  }

• Scroll bar color matching suggestions
  Keep the scroll bar color consistent with the overall page style and avoid abruptness. For example, under the dark theme, you can use dark gray sliders with light gray tracks.

• Test performance under different screen sizes
  Mobile devices usually automatically hide scroll bars, and the CSS customization effect may not be obvious or completely invalid, so performance consistency in responsive design needs to be considered.

• Don't rely too much on scrollbar beautification

  • If the project requires a highly unified UI, the scrollbar plugin may be a better choice.
  • Otherwise, you can just beautify it to enhance the experience, and there is no need to force all browsers to be consistent.

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Basically that's it. Although scroll bar style customization is not a necessary item, it can improve the detailed experience. Mastering pseudo-elements and compatibility processing can achieve good visual optimization in most modern browsers.

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