To create a pure CSS prompt box, you must first set up an HTML structure and use a container containing trigger elements and prompt text; 2. Hidden the prompt text by default through CSS, and use the :hover pseudo-class to achieve hover display; 3. Add position, visibility, opacity and transition attributes to achieve smooth display effect; 4. Optionally add pseudo-elements::after to create a pointing arrow and adjust the position to achieve different directions of up, down, left and right; 5. Key points include using visibility instead of display to support transition animation, ensuring that the parent container is positioned as a relative child element and is absolutely, and using z-index to ensure complete hierarchical display.
Creating a tooltip with just CSS is simple and effective—no JavaScript needed. You can build a clean, hover-activated tooltip using HTML and pure CSS. Here's how to do it step by step.

? Basic Structure: HTML Setup
Use a container element (like a span
or div
) with a tooltip text inside. The tooltip will appear when the user hovers over the trigger element.
<div class="tooltip"> Hover me <span class="tooltip-text">This is a tooltip!</span> </div>
? Styling the Tooltip with CSS
The key idea is to hide the tooltip by default and show it on hover using the :hover
pseudo-class.

/* Tooltip container */ .tooltip { position: relative; display: inline-block; cursor: pointer; } /* Tooltip text - hidden by default */ .tooltip-text { visibility: hidden; width: 120px; background-color: #333; color: #ffff; text-align: center; border-radius: 4px; padding: 5px; position: absolute; z-index: 1; bottom: 125%; /* Position above the trigger */ left: 50%; margin-left: -60px; /* Center horizontally */ opacity: 0; transition: opacity 0.3s, visibility 0.3s; font-size: 14px; } /* Show tooltip on hover */ .tooltip:hover .tooltip-text { visibility: visible; opacity: 1; }
Optional Enhancements
You can improve the appearance and positioning with a small arrow (triangle) using a pseudo-element:
/* Add an arrow pointing down */ .tooltip-text::after { content: ''; position: absolute; top: 100%; left: 50%; margin-left: -5px; border-width: 5px; border-style: solid; border-color: #333 transparent transparent transparent; }
You can adjust bottom
, top
, or left
values to position the tooltip above , below , left , or right of the trigger.

For example, to show the tooltip below :
.tooltip-text { top: 125%; bottom: auto; } .tooltip-text::after { top: -10px; border-color: transparent transparent #333 transparent; }
? Key Points to Remember
- Use
visibility: hidden/visible
instead ofdisplay: none/block
to allow smooth transitions. -
opacity
transition
gives a nice fade effect. -
position: absolute
on the tooltip andrelative
on the container ensure correct positioning. -
z-index
keeps the tooltip above other elements.
Basically, that's it. With just a few lines of CSS, you get a fully functional, styled tooltip—no JavaScript required. Just tweak colors, positioning, and size to match your design.
The above is the detailed content of How to create a CSS-only tooltip?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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