Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

HTML How to Make a Website Responsive Web Design and Testing Build a Three Column Layout

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Problems with my web page

Hi, I have some problems related to my web page. My background colors of all my web page no matter on the body or navigation area disappear. I don't know why. Do you have any solutions on this? Here is my code information in my normalize.css:

/*! normalize.css v1.1.0 | MIT License | git.io/normalize */

/* ========================================================================== HTML5 display definitions ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Correct block display not defined in IE 6/7/8/9 and Firefox 3. */

article, aside, details, figcaption, figure, footer, header, hgroup, main, nav, section, summary { display: block; }

/**

  • Correct inline-block display not defined in IE 6/7/8/9 and Firefox 3. */

audio, canvas, video { display: inline-block; *display: inline; *zoom: 1; }

/**

  • Prevent modern browsers from displaying audio without controls.
  • Remove excess height in iOS 5 devices. */

audio:not([controls]) { display: none; height: 0; }

/**

  • Address styling not present in IE 7/8/9, Firefox 3, and Safari 4.
  • Known issue: no IE 6 support. */

[hidden] { display: none; }

/* ========================================================================== Base ========================================================================== */

/**

  • 1. Correct text resizing oddly in IE 6/7 when body font-size is set using
  • em units.
  • 2. Prevent iOS text size adjust after orientation change, without disabling
  • user zoom. */

html { font-size: 100%; /* 1 / -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; / 2 / -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; / 2 */ }

/**

  • Address font-family inconsistency between textarea and other form
  • elements. */

html, button, input, select, textarea { font-family: sans-serif; }

/**

  • Address margins handled incorrectly in IE 6/7. */

body { margin: 0; }

/* ========================================================================== Links ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Address outline inconsistency between Chrome and other browsers. */

a:focus { outline: thin dotted; }

/**

  • Improve readability when focused and also mouse hovered in all browsers. */

a:active, a:hover { outline: 0; }

/* ========================================================================== Typography ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Address font sizes and margins set differently in IE 6/7.
  • Address font sizes within section and article in Firefox 4+, Safari 5,
  • and Chrome. */

h1 { font-size: 2em; margin: 0.67em 0; }

h2 { font-size: 1.5em; margin: 0.83em 0; }

h3 { font-size: 1.17em; margin: 1em 0; }

h4 { font-size: 1em; margin: 1.33em 0; }

h5 { font-size: 0.83em; margin: 1.67em 0; }

h6 { font-size: 0.67em; margin: 2.33em 0; }

/**

  • Address styling not present in IE 7/8/9, Safari 5, and Chrome. */

abbr[title] { border-bottom: 1px dotted; }

/**

  • Address style set to bolder in Firefox 3+, Safari 4/5, and Chrome. */

b, strong { font-weight: bold; }

blockquote { margin: 1em 40px; }

/**

  • Address styling not present in Safari 5 and Chrome. */

dfn { font-style: italic; }

/**

  • Address differences between Firefox and other browsers.
  • Known issue: no IE 6/7 normalization. */

hr { -moz-box-sizing: content-box; box-sizing: content-box; height: 0; }

/**

  • Address styling not present in IE 6/7/8/9. */

mark { background: #ff0; color: #000; }

/**

  • Address margins set differently in IE 6/7. */

p, pre { margin: 1em 0; }

/**

  • Correct font family set oddly in IE 6, Safari 4/5, and Chrome. */

code, kbd, pre, samp { font-family: monospace, serif; _font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: 1em; }

/**

  • Improve readability of pre-formatted text in all browsers. */

pre { white-space: pre; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; }

/**

  • Address CSS quotes not supported in IE 6/7. */

q { quotes: none; }

/**

  • Address quotes property not supported in Safari 4. */

q:before, q:after { content: ''; content: none; }

/**

  • Address inconsistent and variable font size in all browsers. */

small { font-size: 80%; }

/**

  • Prevent sub and sup affecting line-height in all browsers. */

sub, sup { font-size: 75%; line-height: 0; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; }

sup { top: -0.5em; }

sub { bottom: -0.25em; }

/* ========================================================================== Lists ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Address margins set differently in IE 6/7. */

dl, menu, ol, ul { margin: 1em 0; }

dd { margin: 0 0 0 40px; }

/**

  • Address paddings set differently in IE 6/7. */

menu, ol, ul { padding: 0 0 0 40px; }

/**

  • Correct list images handled incorrectly in IE 7. */

nav ul, nav ol { list-style: none; list-style-image: none; }

/* ========================================================================== Embedded content ========================================================================== */

/**

  • 1. Remove border when inside a element in IE 6/7/8/9 and Firefox 3.
  • 2. Improve image quality when scaled in IE 7. */

img { border: 0; /* 1 / -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; / 2 */ }

/**

  • Correct overflow displayed oddly in IE 9. */

svg:not(:root) { overflow: hidden; }

/* ========================================================================== Figures ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Address margin not present in IE 6/7/8/9, Safari 5, and Opera 11. */

figure { margin: 0; }

/* ========================================================================== Forms ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Correct margin displayed oddly in IE 6/7. */

form { margin: 0; }

/**

  • Define consistent border, margin, and padding. */

fieldset { border: 1px solid #c0c0c0; margin: 0 2px; padding: 0.35em 0.625em 0.75em; }

/**

  • 1. Correct color not being inherited in IE 6/7/8/9.
  • 2. Correct text not wrapping in Firefox 3.
  • 3. Correct alignment displayed oddly in IE 6/7. */

legend { border: 0; /* 1 / padding: 0; white-space: normal; / 2 / *margin-left: -7px; / 3 */ }

/**

  • 1. Correct font size not being inherited in all browsers.
  • 2. Address margins set differently in IE 6/7, Firefox 3+, Safari 5,
  • and Chrome.
  • 3. Improve appearance and consistency in all browsers. */

button, input, select, textarea { font-size: 100%; /* 1 / margin: 0; / 2 / vertical-align: baseline; / 3 / *vertical-align: middle; / 3 */ }

/**

  • Address Firefox 3+ setting line-height on input using !important in
  • the UA stylesheet. */

button, input { line-height: normal; }

/**

  • Address inconsistent text-transform inheritance for button and select.
  • All other form control elements do not inherit text-transform values.
  • Correct button style inheritance in Chrome, Safari 5+, and IE 6+.
  • Correct select style inheritance in Firefox 4+ and Opera. */

button, select { text-transform: none; }

/**

  • 1. Avoid the WebKit bug in Android 4.0.* where (2) destroys native audio
  • and video controls.
  • 2. Correct inability to style clickable input types in iOS.
  • 3. Improve usability and consistency of cursor style between image-type
  • input and others.
  • 4. Remove inner spacing in IE 7 without affecting normal text inputs.
  • Known issue: inner spacing remains in IE 6. */

button, html input[type="button"], /* 1 / input[type="reset"], input[type="submit"] { -webkit-appearance: button; / 2 / cursor: pointer; / 3 / *overflow: visible; / 4 */ }

/**

  • Re-set default cursor for disabled elements. */

button[disabled], html input[disabled] { cursor: default; }

/**

  • 1. Address box sizing set to content-box in IE 8/9.
  • 2. Remove excess padding in IE 8/9.
  • 3. Remove excess padding in IE 7.
  • Known issue: excess padding remains in IE 6. */

input[type="checkbox"], input[type="radio"] { box-sizing: border-box; /* 1 / padding: 0; / 2 / *height: 13px; / 3 / *width: 13px; / 3 */ }

/**

  • 1. Address appearance set to searchfield in Safari 5 and Chrome.
  • 2. Address box-sizing set to border-box in Safari 5 and Chrome
  • (include -moz to future-proof). */

input[type="search"] { -webkit-appearance: textfield; /* 1 / -moz-box-sizing: content-box; -webkit-box-sizing: content-box; / 2 */ box-sizing: content-box; }

/**

  • Remove inner padding and search cancel button in Safari 5 and Chrome
  • on OS X. */

input[type="search"]::-webkit-search-cancel-button, input[type="search"]::-webkit-search-decoration { -webkit-appearance: none; }

/**

  • Remove inner padding and border in Firefox 3+. */

button::-moz-focus-inner, input::-moz-focus-inner { border: 0; padding: 0; }

/**

  • 1. Remove default vertical scrollbar in IE 6/7/8/9.
  • 2. Improve readability and alignment in all browsers. */

textarea { overflow: auto; /* 1 / vertical-align: top; / 2 */ }

/* ========================================================================== Tables ========================================================================== */

/**

  • Remove most spacing between table cells. */

table { border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0; }

7 Answers

Nick Nish
Nick Nish
7,304 Points

Hey Kai,

I figured it out. A few things:

  1. Remember that the order you enter in your stylesheets in your <HEAD> matters. If you use reset.css or normalize.css, put it at the top of your stylesheets so that your CSS can override them. Also, I saw that in one of your files you linked to css/Style.css instead of style.css. I'm not sure if that matters, but I would be careful about things like that anyway.

  2. Be careful not to leave CSS properties without a ";". They're crucial and things can break with mistakes like these. The same way, you have to close your strings.

Example: Notice below the two apostrophes and semicolon.

body { background-image: url(' ... '); }

Finally, sorry that it took so long to figure this out. I'm hoping that Treehouse adds sharable workspaces soon so that next time you can just invite me, then we'd figure it out in like 5 minutes. Haha! Sending you my corrections via email.

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Thanks. Yes, I hope Treehouse can add sharable workspace too. Let me see your emails. I am waiting for your corrections.

Max Bailey
Max Bailey
8,245 Points

Hey Ka,

If you're trying to do it all within the HTML file, you can do it like this.

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Kai's Website</title>
    <style type="text/css">
        body {
            background:ghostwhite;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <!-- Your Page Here -->
</body>
</html>

Otherwise, if you're including an external CSS file (which is recommended in 95% of cases), you can do it like so

index.html

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Kai's Website</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css">
</head>
<body>
    <!-- Your Page Here -->
</body>
</html>

style.css

body {
    background:ghostwhite;
}

NOTE: The ghostwhite color is very close to a regular white background, try replacing it with red, or some other noticeable color!

I hope this helped.

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Still the same problem.

I found that, in my normalize.css, there are codes highlighted being as red. Here are the details:

  1. It highlights the *zoom in the following

audio, canvas, video { display: inline-block; *display: inline; *zoom: 1; }

  1. It highlights the *webkit-text-size-adjust and ms-text-size-adjust in the following

html { font-size: 100%; /* 1 / -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; / 2 / -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; / 2 */ }

  1. It highlights the *_font-family in the following

code, kbd, pre, samp { font-family: monospace, serif; _font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: 1em; }

  1. It highlights the *ms-interpolation-mode in the following

img { border: 0; /* 1 / -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; / 2 */ }

Max Bailey
Max Bailey
8,245 Points

Ka,

The things that start with *, like *zoom are basically polyfills for IE. The rest is pretty standard stuff for a reset.

Can you doing this for me quick:

body {
    background:red !important;
}

And post what the results are?

Max Bailey
Max Bailey
8,245 Points

Also, make sure your CSS is below the normalize.

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

The problem is the same. No any colors on my web page. And, my css is actually below normalize.

Max Bailey
Max Bailey
8,245 Points

That's really weird. Will you create a Codepen and post the link here? Just head over to http://codepen.io and click "New Pen". Then "Save Pen", and post the link.

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Could I send my workspace download package to you for review? Please give me your email address. Thanks so much.

Nick Nish
Nick Nish
7,304 Points

Hi Kai,

First, normalize.css modifies all your elements and resets them to standardize their properties so that they look the same across different browsers.

Now, if you want to change the background-color of your body, try opening a new CSS stylesheet and enter:

body { background-color: ghostwhite; }

Let me know if this helps or if you need more help!

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

You mean I open up a new .css file and type in the code like this "body { background-color: ghostwhite; }"? No, it does not work. The same problem still exists.

Nick Nish
Nick Nish
7,304 Points

Hi Kai

Are you linking to the new stylesheet? (Inside the HTML <head>)

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">
Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Still the same problem.

I found that, in my normalize.css, there are codes highlighted being as red. Here are the details:

  1. It highlights the *zoom in the following

audio, canvas, video { display: inline-block; *display: inline; *zoom: 1; }

  1. It highlights the *webkit-text-size-adjust and ms-text-size-adjust in the following

html { font-size: 100%; /* 1 / -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; / 2 / -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; / 2 */ }

  1. It highlights the *_font-family in the following

code, kbd, pre, samp { font-family: monospace, serif; _font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: 1em; }

  1. It highlights the *ms-interpolation-mode in the following

img { border: 0; /* 1 / -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; / 2 */ }

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Here are my index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Roy Chan | Expert</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/normalize.css"> <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css? family=Changa+One|Open+Sans:400italic,700italic,400,700,800' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/main.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/responsive.css"> </head> <body> <header> <a href="index.html" id="logo"> <h1>Roy Chan</h1> <h2>Expert</h2> </a> <nav> <ul> <li><a href="index.html" class="selected">Portfolio</a></li> <li><a href="about.html">About</a></li> <li><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li> </ul> </nav> </header> <div id="wrapper"> <section> <ul id="gallery"> <li> <a href="img/numbers-01.jpg"> <img src="img/numbers-01.jpg" alt=""> <p>Experiment with colors and textures</p> </a> </li> <li> <a href="img/numbers-02.jpg"> <img src="img/numbers-02.jpg" alt=""> <p>Playing with blending modes in photoshop</p> </a> </li> <li> <a href="img/numbers-06.jpg"> <img src="img/numbers-06.jpg" alt=""> <p>Trying to create an 80's style of glows</p> </a> </li> <li> <a href="img/numbers-09.jpg"> <img src="img/numbers-09.jpg" alt=""> <p>Drips created using photoshop brushes</p> </a> </li> <li> <a href="img/numbers-12.jpg"> <img src="img/numbers-12.jpg" alt=""> <p>Creating shapes using repetition</p> </a> </li> </ul> <footer> <a href="http://twitter.com/Nick Pettite"> <img src="img/twitter-wrap.png" alt="Twitter Logo" class="social-icon"></a> <a href="http://facebook.com/Nick Pettite"> <img src="img/facebook-wrap.png" alt="Twitter Logo" class="social-icon"></a> <p>© 2014 Roy Chan.</p> </footer> </section> </div> </body> </html>

Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

You mean I open up a new .css file and type in the code like this "body { background-color: ghostwhite; }"? No, it does not work. The same problem still exists.

Nick Nish
Nick Nish
7,304 Points

Ka Kai Chan

Follow this link: Your HTML code should look like this:

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="normalize.css">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css"> 
    <title>Document</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Hello</h1>
</body>
</html>

Then your personalized CSS (Notice you link it UNDER the Normalize.css) should look like this:

body { background-color: #497bad; }

h1 { color: #333; text-align:center; }
Ka Kai Chan
Ka Kai Chan
2,250 Points

Could I send my workspace download package to you for review? Please give me your email address. Thanks so much.