How to Create CSS Sprites

See CSS: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

A CSS sprite is an image file that contains several graphics used on a web page. By showing different parts of the sprite in different locations, it appears that there are several different images, but they are all contained in a single file, which translates to a single download.

In this How-To, you'll learn how to create a grid of images by using a sprite.

  1. Start with a basic HTML document containing an HTML list with as many list items as you want. For this How-to, I'll have 25 list items, which will allow me to create a 5x5 grid. Give each list item a unique id. 
    <!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>CSS Sprite</title>
<style type="text/css" media="screen">

</style>
</head>

<body>
	<ol id="grid">
		<li id="pic1" title="Picture 1"><a href="#1">Picture 1</a></li>
		<li id="pic2" title="Picture 2"><a href="#2">Picture 2</a></li>
		<li id="pic3" title="Picture 3"><a href="#3">Picture 3</a></li>
		<li id="pic4" title="Picture 4"><a href="#4">Picture 4</a></li>
		<li id="pic5" title="Picture 5"><a href="#5">Picture 5</a></li>
		<li id="pic6" title="Picture 6"><a href="#6">Picture 6</a></li>
		<li id="pic7" title="Picture 7"><a href="#7">Picture 7</a></li>
		<li id="pic8" title="Picture 8"><a href="#8">Picture 8</a></li>
		<li id="pic9" title="Picture 9"><a href="#9">Picture 9</a></li>
		<li id="pic10" title="Picture 10"><a href="#10">Picture 10</a></li>
		<li id="pic11" title="Picture 11"><a href="#11">Picture 11</a></li>
		<li id="pic12" title="Picture 12"><a href="#12">Picture 12</a></li>
		<li id="pic13" title="Picture 13"><a href="#13">Picture 13</a></li>
		<li id="pic14" title="Picture 14"><a href="#14">Picture 14</a></li>
		<li id="pic15" title="Picture 15"><a href="#15">Picture 15</a></li>
		<li id="pic16" title="Picture 16"><a href="#16">Picture 16</a></li>
		<li id="pic17" title="Picture 17"><a href="#17">Picture 17</a></li>
		<li id="pic18" title="Picture 18"><a href="#18">Picture 18</a></li>
		<li id="pic19" title="Picture 19"><a href="#19">Picture 19</a></li>
		<li id="pic20" title="Picture 20"><a href="#20">Picture 20</a></li>
		<li id="pic21" title="Picture 21"><a href="#21">Picture 21</a></li>
		<li id="pic22" title="Picture 22"><a href="#22">Picture 22</a></li>
		<li id="pic23" title="Picture 23"><a href="#23">Picture 23</a></li>
		<li id="pic24" title="Picture 24"><a href="#24">Picture 24</a></li>
		<li id="pic25" title="Picture 25"><a href="#25">Picture 25</a></li>
	</ol>
</body>
</html>
  2. Inside the style element, give the ordered list a width and height, position it using relative positioning, and set its background to an image. 
    
<style type="text/css" media="screen">
#grid {
	position: relative;
	width: 674px;
	height: 674px;
	background: transparent url(https://howtoimages.webucator.com/2810.png)  0px 0px no-repeat;
	margin: auto;
}
</style>
  3. Right click on and download the following image, placing it in a directory named images in the same directory as your html file. Notice how this image contains two different versions of each button. sprite image
  4. Position all of the li elements using absolute positioning. 
    
#grid li {
	position: absolute;
}
  5. Give each list item and each link in the grid a width and height equal to the size of the individual images in the sprite and set overflow to hidden. 
    
#grid li, #grid a {
	display: block;
	height: 83px;
	width: 83px;
	text-indent:-100px;
	overflow:hidden;
}
  6. Position the top edges of each of the rows in the grid and the left edges of each column: 
    
#pic1, #pic2, #pic3, #pic4, #pic5 {
	top:36px;
}

#pic6, #pic7, #pic8, #pic9, #pic10 {
	top:163px;
}

#pic11, #pic12, #pic13, #pic14, #pic15 {
	top:293px;
}

#pic16, #pic17, #pic18, #pic19, #pic20 {
	top:423px;
}

#pic21, #pic22, #pic23, #pic24, #pic25 {
	top:553px;
}

#pic1, #pic6, #pic11, #pic16, #pic21 {
	left:54px;
}

#pic2, #pic7, #pic12, #pic17, #pic22  {
	left:174px;
}

#pic3, #pic8, #pic13, #pic18, #pic23  {
	left:294px;
}

#pic4, #pic9, #pic14, #pic19, #pic24  {
	left:414px;
}

#pic5, #pic10, #pic15, #pic20, #pic25  {
	left:535px;
}
  7. Set the background of the link when it's being hovered over to the sprite image: 
    
#grid a:hover {
	background: transparent url(images/sprite.png) no-repeat;
}
  8. Use the background-position property to adjust the position of the background for each list item when the the mouse is hovering over it. 
    #pic1 a:hover {
	background-position: -54px -683px;
}
#pic2 a:hover {
	background-position: -174px -683px;
}
#pic3 a:hover {
	background-position: -294px -683px;
}
#pic4 a:hover {
	background-position: -414px -683px;
}
#pic5 a:hover {
	background-position: -535px -683px;
}
#pic6 a:hover {
	background-position: -54px -810px;
}
#pic7 a:hover {
	background-position: -174px -810px;
}
#pic8 a:hover {
	background-position: -294px -810px;
}
#pic9 a:hover {
	background-position: -414px -810px;
}
#pic10 a:hover {
	background-position: -535px -810px;
}
#pic11 a:hover {
	background-position: -54px -940px;
}
#pic12 a:hover {
	background-position: -174px -940px;
}
#pic13 a:hover {
	background-position: -294px -940px;
}
#pic14 a:hover {
	background-position: -414px -940px;
}
#pic15 a:hover {
	background-position: -535px -940px;
}
#pic16 a:hover {
	background-position: -54px -1070px;
}
#pic17 a:hover {
	background-position: -174px -1070px;
}
#pic18 a:hover {
	background-position: -294px -1070px;
}
#pic19 a:hover {
	background-position: -414px -1070px;
}
#pic20 a:hover {
	background-position: -535px -1070px;
}
#pic21 a:hover {
	background-position: -54px -1200px;
}
#pic22 a:hover {
	background-position: -174px -1200px;
}
#pic23 a:hover {
	background-position: -294px -1200px;
}
#pic24 a:hover {
	background-position: -414px -1200px;
}
#pic25 a:hover {
	background-position: -535px -1200px;
}
  9. Your finished code should look like this: 
    <!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="reset-meyer.css">

<style type="text/css">
body {
background-color: #fff;
}

#grid {
position: relative;
width: 674px;
height: 674px;
background: transparent url(Images/sprite.png) 0px 0px no-repeat;
margin: auto;
}

#grid li {
position: absolute;
}

#grid li, #grid a {
display: block;
height: 83px;
width: 83px;
text-indent: -100px;
overflow: hidden;
}

#pic1, #pic2, #pic3, #pic4, #pic5 {
top: 36px;
}

#pic6, #pic7, #pic8, #pic9, #pic10 {
top: 163px;
}

#pic11, #pic12, #pic13, #pic14, #pic15 {
top: 293px;
}

#pic16, #pic17, #pic18, #pic19, #pic20 {
top: 423px;
}

#pic21, #pic22, #pic23, #pic24, #pic25 {
top: 553px;
}

#pic1, #pic6, #pic11, #pic16, #pic21 {
left: 54px;
}

#pic2, #pic7, #pic12, #pic17, #pic22 {
left: 174px;
}

#pic3, #pic8, #pic13, #pic18, #pic23 {
left: 294px;
}

#pic4, #pic9, #pic14, #pic19, #pic24 {
left: 414px;
}

#pic5, #pic10, #pic15, #pic20, #pic25 {
left: 535px;
}

#grid a:hover {
background: transparent url(Images/sprite.png) no-repeat;
}

#pic1 a:hover {
background-position: -54px -683px;
}

#pic2 a:hover {
background-position: -174px -683px;
}

#pic3 a:hover {
background-position: -294px -683px;
}

#pic4 a:hover {
background-position: -414px -683px;
}

#pic5 a:hover {
background-position: -535px -683px;
}

#pic6 a:hover {
background-position: -54px -810px;
}

#pic7 a:hover {
background-position: -174px -810px;
}

#pic8 a:hover {
background-position: -294px -810px;
}

#pic9 a:hover {
background-position: -414px -810px;
}

#pic10 a:hover {
background-position: -535px -810px;
}

#pic11 a:hover {
background-position: -54px -940px;
}

#pic12 a:hover {
background-position: -174px -940px;
}

#pic13 a:hover {
background-position: -294px -940px;
}

#pic14 a:hover {
background-position: -414px -940px;
}

#pic15 a:hover {
background-position: -535px -940px;
}

#pic16 a:hover {
background-position: -54px -1070px;
}

#pic17 a:hover {
background-position: -174px -1070px;
}

#pic18 a:hover {
background-position: -294px -1070px;
}

#pic19 a:hover {
background-position: -414px -1070px;
}

#pic20 a:hover {
background-position: -535px -1070px;
}

#pic21 a:hover {
background-position: -54px -1200px;
}

#pic22 a:hover {
background-position: -174px -1200px;
}

#pic23 a:hover {
background-position: -294px -1200px;
}

#pic24 a:hover {
background-position: -414px -1200px;
}

#pic25 a:hover {
background-position: -535px -1200px;
}
</style>
<title>Sprite</title>
</head>
<body>
<ul id="grid">
<li id="pic1" title="Picture 1"><a href="#1">Picture 1</a></li>
<li id="pic2" title="Picture 2"><a href="#2">Picture 2</a></li>
<li id="pic3" title="Picture 3"><a href="#3">Picture 3</a></li>
<li id="pic4" title="Picture 4"><a href="#4">Picture 4</a></li>
<li id="pic5" title="Picture 5"><a href="#5">Picture 5</a></li>
<li id="pic6" title="Picture 6"><a href="#6">Picture 6</a></li>
<li id="pic7" title="Picture 7"><a href="#7">Picture 7</a></li>
<li id="pic8" title="Picture 8"><a href="#8">Picture 8</a></li>
<li id="pic9" title="Picture 9"><a href="#9">Picture 9</a></li>
</ul>
</body>
		</html>
    10. Open your web page in a browser. This code renders the following: Buttons created using a sprite

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