Understanding How display Affects CSS Pseudo-elements (::before, ::after)
Pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after generate content before or after an element’s actual content. Their visibility and rendering depend on the element’s display property and whether the element itself is rendered in the layout.
Pseudo-elements only appear if their parent element is displayed (i.e., not set to
display: none).They inherit the parent’s
displaybehavior — if the parent is removed from layout, pseudo-elements are not rendered.The
displayproperty can also be applied to pseudo-elements directly, affecting how their generated content is rendered (e.g.,display: block,display: inline).If
contentis not defined, the pseudo-element will not appear, regardless of thedisplayvalue.
In this example, both ::before and ::after are visible because the .button element is displayed as inline-block. If the button were set to display: none, neither pseudo-element would render.
Always ensure the parent element is rendered before relying on pseudo-elements.
Use
displayon pseudo-elements to control layout flow — for example,blockfor stacking orinlinefor inline content.Remember that pseudo-elements do not exist in the DOM; their rendering fully depends on the CSS cascade and the parent’s display context.