what does a:active do in CSS?

Answer 1

Abir Sheikh

It is a pseudoclass that can be applied to a focusable element just like other pseudoclasses, hover and focus.

These are usually used to visually differentiate different states of a focusable element by applying different styles.

For example, I want a button element to have different background colours to indicate different states.
CSS
--------------
button{
background: #ddd;
}
button:hover{
background: orange;
}
button:focus{
background: red;
}
button:active{
background: green;
}
---------------

See this page: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:active

Answer 2

This is a pseudoclass like hover but this works when you
Click

Answer 3

Hey there!
As mentioned by Muhammadamin , it is a pseudoclass. Using this you can style the active link differently than the others in the same segment.

Eg: In a navigation bar, the tab that is currently opened is often styled differently than the other tabs.

Answer 4

Selects active links.