display: none completely removes elements and does not occupy space, affects the layout but is inaccessible; 2. visibility: hidden retains space and does not affect the layout, can be animated and child elements can be displayed; 3. opacity: 0 makes elements transparent but still occupy space and can interact, suitable for animation; 4. Off-screen positioning is used for visual concealment but retains screen reader access; 5. hidden attribute is equivalent to display: none but is convenient for JavaScript control; appropriate methods should be selected based on whether space, animation, interaction or barrier-free, among which display: none is the most commonly used, but visibility and opacity are better in specific scenarios.
There are several ways to hide an element in CSS, depending on whether you want to remove it from the layout, keep its space, or conditionally show/hide it later. Here are the most common methods:
1. display: none
This is the most common and straightforward way to hide an element.
.element {
display: none;
}- Effect : The element is completely removed from the document flow. It takes up no space, and other elements will reflow as if it doesn't exist.
- Use case : When you want to fully hide an element and don't need it to occur any layout space.
Note:
display: nonealso disables any child elements and stops scripts or animations within that element.
2. visibility: hidden
This hides the element but keeps its space in the layout.
.element {
visibility: hidden;
}- Effect : The element becomes invisible, but the space it occurs. Other elements don't move or reflow.
- Use case : When you want to temporarily hide something but keep the layout intact (eg, for a loading state or animation prep).
Unlike
display: none, child elements can be shown again usingvisibility: visible.
3. opacity: 0
This makes the element fully transparent but still interactive (unless you disable it).
.element {
opacity: 0;
}- Effect : The element is invisible but still takes up space and can receive pointer events (like clicks).
- Use case : Great for fade-in/fade-out animations or when you want to hide something visually but keep it accessible or interactive.
To disable interaction, combine it with:
pointer-events: none;
4. Off-screen positioning (for accessibility)
Sometimes you want to hide an element visually but keep it available for screen readers.
.sr-only {
position: absolute;
left: -10000px;
top: auto;
width: 1px;
height: 1px;
overflow: hidden;
}- Use case : Accessible hiding (eg, for screen-reader-only text like "Skip to content").
Modern approach: Use the
.visually-hiddenclass pattern often seen in frameworks like Bootstrap.
5. Using hidden attribute (HTML CSS)
HTML has a built-in hidden attribute that works with CSS.
<div hidden>Hidden content</div>
[hidden] {
display: none;
}- Effect : Same as
display: none, but can be toggled easily via JavaScript. - Note : You can override it with CSS if needed, but by default it hides the element.
Summary: Which to use?
| Method | Takes up space? | Affects layout? | Accessible? | Animatable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
display: none
|
? | ? | ? | ? |
visibility: hidden
|
? | ? | ? | ? |
opacity: 0
|
? | ? | ? | ? |
| Off-screen | ? | ? | ? | ? |
hidden attribute |
? | ? | ? | ? |
Choose based on your needs: hiding layout, preserving space, accessibility, or animation.
Basically, for most cases, display: none is the go-to. But don't overlook visibility or opacity when you need more control.
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