Why is this specific CSS code line not functioning properly?

Store Design
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Topic summary

Issue: A CSS rule targeting a specific navigation link wasn’t applying, while similar rules for two other links worked. The selector used an attribute match on href: .nav-bar__item a[href=“/collections/bargain-bundle-boxes”].

Update: A reply suggested changing that selector to use the full absolute URL: a[href=“https://toptoys2u.co.uk/collections/bargain-bundle-boxes”]. The OP confirmed this fixed the styling for that menu item.

Explanation context: CSS attribute selectors (a[href=“…”]) match elements whose href attribute value exactly equals the given string. If the rendered anchor uses an absolute URL for one item and relative paths for others, a relative selector won’t match that first item. The OP asked why the others work without full URLs; a detailed explanation has not yet been provided.

Assets: The code snippet is central to understanding; a screenshot of the menu was attached but not necessary to follow the issue.

Outcome/Status: Functional fix applied. Clarification on why one item uses an absolute href remains open.

Summarized with AI on December 30. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello All,

I am struggling to find out why a certain line of CSS is not working, even though it is the exact same as two other lines of code, which work (apart from the text colour and the link).

Would anyone be able to resolve this issue and explain why this first line is not working?

Please see the code below.

.nav-bar__item a[href="/collections/bargain-bundle-boxes"] {
    color: #000000;
  font-weight: bold;
text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f;
}

.nav-bar__item a[href="/collections/clearance"] {
    color: #F2E90F;
  font-weight: bold;
  text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000;
}    

.nav-bar__item a[href="/collections/hot-deals"] {
    color: #ef4a38;
  font-weight: bold;
  text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000;
}

Mystery Boxes menu.png

Appreciate any help!

2

Replace Your Css With This css

.nav-bar__item a[href="https://toptoys2u.co.uk/collections/bargain-bundle-boxes"] {
    color: #000000;
  font-weight: bold;
text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 1px 1px 2px #02f2ed, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f, 3px 4px 2px #ff034f;
}

.nav-bar__item a[href="/collections/clearance"] {
    color: #F2E90F;
  font-weight: bold;
  text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000;
}    

.nav-bar__item a[href="/collections/hot-deals"] {
    color: #ef4a38;
  font-weight: bold;
  text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000, 1px 1px 2px #000000;
}
1 Like
3

Hello @Raj-WebDesigne

Thank you for your help!

This seems to work.

Could you explain why it worked? The only difference I can see between your code and my code is the a[href=“/collections/bargain-bundle-boxes”] changing to a[href=“https://toptoys2u.co.uk/collections/bargain-bundle-boxes”], but the lines below do not have have a full link, and they seem to work fine?

Thank you for your help!