First Letter Pseudo Element

2019-05-03

In today's TypeTip we will be taking a look at the often overlooked :first-letter CSS pseudo element. Though you might only use this for specific article-format web pages, it's still a nice-to-have in your web dev toolset.

The HTML

Like most pseudo elements, nothing has to change with your pre-existing HTML structure:

<article>
    <p>It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.</p>
</article>

The CSS

Here's where the magic happens:

p:first-letter {
    color: orangered;
    font-size: 250%;
}

Live CodePen

Live CodePen Example