How to Make A Chevron Arrow Using CSS?

Html Problem Overview

Ok, so everyone knows you can make a triangle using this:

#triangle {
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    border-left: 50px solid transparent;
    border-right: 50px solid transparent;
    border-bottom: 100px solid red;
}

And that produces a solid, filled in triangle. But how would you make a hollow-type arrow-like triangle, like this?

an arrow with only two lines that intersect at the point. Like a greater than sign: >

Html Solutions

Solution 1 - Html

You can use the before or after pseudo-element and apply some CSS to it. There are various ways. You can add both before and after, and rotate and position each of them to form one of the bars. An easier solution is adding two borders to just the before element and rotate it using transform: rotate.

Scroll down for a different solution that uses an actual element instead of the pseuso elements

In this case, I've added the arrows as bullets in a list and used em sizes to make them size properly with the font of the list.

ul {
    list-style: none;
}

ul.big {
    list-style: none;
    font-size: 300%
}

li::before {
    position: relative;
    /* top: 3pt; Uncomment this to lower the icons as requested in comments*/
    content: "";
    display: inline-block;
    /* By using an em scale, the arrows will size with the font */
    width: 0.4em;
    height: 0.4em;
    border-right: 0.2em solid black;
    border-top: 0.2em solid black;
    transform: rotate(45deg);
    margin-right: 0.5em;
}

/* Change color */
li:hover {
  color: red; /* For the text */
}
li:hover::before {
  border-color: red; /* For the arrow (which is a border) */
}

<ul>
    <li>Item1</li>
    <li>Item2</li>
    <li>Item3</li>
    <li>Item4</li>
</ul>

<ul class="big">
    <li>Item1</li>
    <li>Item2</li>
    <li>Item3</li>
    <li>Item4</li>
</ul>

Of course you don't need to use before or after, you can apply the same trick to a normal element as well. For the list above it is convenient, because you don't need additional markup. But sometimes you may want (or need) the markup anyway. You can use a div or span for that, and I've even seen people even recycle the i element for 'icons'. So that markup could look like below. Whether using <i> for this is right is debatable, but you can use span for this as well to be on the safe side.

/* Default icon formatting */
i {
  display: inline-block;
  font-style: normal;
  position: relative;
}

/* Additional formatting for arrow icon */
i.arrow {
    /* top: 2pt; Uncomment this to lower the icons as requested in comments*/
    width: 0.4em;
    height: 0.4em;
    border-right: 0.2em solid black;
    border-top: 0.2em solid black;
    transform: rotate(45deg);
}

And so you can have an <i class="arrow" title="arrow icon"></i> in your text.
This arrow is <i class="arrow" title="arrow icon"></i> used to be deliberately lowered slightly on request.
I removed that for the general public <i class="arrow" title="arrow icon"></i> but you can uncomment the line with 'top' <i class="arrow" title="arrow icon"></i> to restore that effect.

If you seek more inspiration, make sure to check out this awesome library of pure CSS icons by Nicolas Gallagher. :)

Solution 2 - Html

This can be solved much easier than the other suggestions.

Simply draw a square and apply a border property to just 2 joining sides.

Then rotate the square according to the direction you want the arrow to point, for exaple: transform: rotate(<your degree here>)

.triangle {
    border-right: 10px solid; 
    border-bottom: 10px solid;
    height: 30px;
    width: 30px;
    transform: rotate(-45deg);
}

<div class="triangle"></div>

Solution 3 - Html

Responsive Chevrons / arrows

they resize automatically with your text and are colored the same color. Plug and play :)
jsBin demo playground

body{
  font-size: 25px; /* Change font and  see the magic! */
  color: #f07;     /* Change color and see the magic! */
} 

/* RESPONSIVE ARROWS */
[class^=arr-]{
  border:       solid currentColor;
  border-width: 0 .2em .2em 0;
  display:      inline-block;
  padding:      .20em;
}
.arr-right {transform:rotate(-45deg);}
.arr-left  {transform:rotate(135deg);}
.arr-up    {transform:rotate(-135deg);}
.arr-down  {transform:rotate(45deg);}

This is <i class="arr-right"></i> .arr-right<br>
This is <i class="arr-left"></i> .arr-left<br>
This is <i class="arr-up"></i> .arr-up<br>
This is <i class="arr-down"></i> .arr-down

Solution 4 - Html

Here's a different approach:

Use the multiplication character: × ×
Hide half of it with overflow:hidden
Then add a triangle as a pseudo element for the tip.

The advantage here is that no transforms are necessary. (It will work in IE8+)

FIDDLE

.arrow {
  position: relative;
}
.arrow:before {
  content: '×';
  display: inline-block;
  position: absolute;
  font-size: 240px;
  font-weight: bold;
  font-family: verdana;
  width: 103px;
  height: 151px;
  overflow: hidden;
  line-height: 117px;
}
.arrow:after {
  content: '';
  display: inline-block;
  position: absolute;
  left: 101px;
  top: 51px;
  width: 0;
  height: 0;
  border-style: solid;
  border-width: 25px 0 25px 24px;
  border-color: transparent transparent transparent black;
}

<div class="arrow"></div>

Solution 5 - Html

Just use before and after Pseudo-elements - CSS

*{box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0; margin: 0}
:root{background: white; transition: background .3s ease-in-out}
:root:hover{background: red }
div{
  margin: 20px auto;
  width: 150px;
  height: 150px;
  position:relative
}

div:before, div:after{
  content: '';
  position: absolute;
  width: 75px;
  height: 20px;
  background: black;
  left: 40px
}

div:before{
  top: 45px;
  transform: rotateZ(45deg)
}

div:after{
  bottom: 45px;
  transform: rotateZ(-45deg)
}

<div/>

Solution 6 - Html

An other approach using borders and no CSS3 properties :

div, div:after{
    border-width: 80px 0 80px 80px;
    border-color: transparent transparent transparent #000;
    border-style:solid;
    position:relative;
}
div:after{
    content:'';
    position:absolute;
    left:-115px; top:-80px;
    border-left-color:#fff;
}

<div></div>

Solution 7 - Html

> itself is very wonderful arrow! Just prepend a div with it and style it.

div{
  font-size:50px;
}
div::before{
  content:">";
  font: 50px 'Consolas';
  font-weight:900;
}

<div class="arrowed">Hatz!</div>

Solution 8 - Html

Left Right Arrow with hover effect using Roko C. Buljan box-shadow trick

.arr {
  display: inline-block;
  padding: 1.2em;
  box-shadow: 8px 8px 0 2px #777 inset;
}
.arr.left {
  transform: rotate(-45deg);
}
.arr.right {
  transform: rotate(135deg);
}
.arr:hover {
  box-shadow: 8px 8px 0 2px #000 inset
}

<div class="arr left"></div>
<div class="arr right"></div>

Solution 9 - Html

I needed to change an input to an arrow in my project. Below is final work.

#in_submit {
  background-color: white;
  border-left: #B4C8E9;
  border-top: #B4C8E9;
  border-right: 3px solid black;
  border-bottom: 3px solid black;
  width: 15px;
  height: 15px;
  transform: rotate(-45deg);
  margin-top: 4px;
  margin-left: 4px;
  position: absolute;
  cursor: pointer;
}

<input id="in_submit" type="button" class="convert_btn">

Here Fiddle

Solution 10 - Html

.arrow {
  display : inline-block;
  font-size: 10px; /* adjust size */
  line-height: 1em; /* adjust vertical positioning */
  border: 3px solid #000000;
  border-left: transparent;
  border-bottom: transparent;
  width: 1em; /* use font-size to change overall size */
  height: 1em; /* use font-size to change overall size */
}

.arrow:before {
  content: "\00a0"; /* needed to hook line-height to "something" */
}

.arrow.left {
  margin-left: 0.5em;
  -webkit-transform: rotate(225deg);
  -moz-transform: rotate(225deg);
  -o-transform: rotate(225deg);
  -ms-transform: rotate(225deg);
  transform: rotate(225deg);
}

.arrow.right {
  margin-right: 0.5em;
  -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg);
  -moz-transform: rotate(45deg);
  -o-transform: rotate(45deg);
  -ms-transform: rotate(45deg);
  transform: rotate(45deg);
}

.arrow.top {
  line-height: 0.5em; /* use this to adjust vertical positioning */
  margin-left: 0.5em;
  margin-right: 0.5em;
  -webkit-transform: rotate(-45deg);
  -moz-transform: rotate(-45deg);
  -o-transform: rotate(-45deg);
  -ms-transform: rotate(-45deg);
  transform: rotate(-45deg);
}

.arrow.bottom {
  line-height: 2em;
  /* use this to adjust vertical positioning */
  margin-left: 0.5em;
  margin-right: 0.5em;
  -webkit-transform: rotate(135deg);
  -moz-transform: rotate(135deg);
  -o-transform: rotate(135deg);
  -ms-transform: rotate(135deg);
  transform: rotate(135deg);
}

<div>
  here are some arrows
  <div class='arrow left'></div> space
  <div class='arrow right'></div> space
  <div class='arrow top'></div> space
  <div class='arrow bottom'></div> space with proper spacing?
</div>

Similar to Roko C, but a little more control over size and placement.

Content Type	Original Author	Original Content on Stackoverflow
Question	Tommay	View Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - Html	GolezTrol	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - Html	Alan Dunning	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - Html	Roko C. Buljan	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - Html	Danield	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 5 - Html	Gildas.Tambo	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 6 - Html	web-tiki	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 7 - Html	nicael	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 8 - Html	vinayakj	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 9 - Html	Mostafa	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 10 - Html	bob	View Answer on Stackoverflow