If you’re wondering what the point of a repeating linear gradient is, don’t worry, we’ve gotten that question before. While you might think that a repeating linear gradient is a silly concept, we’ve got news for you – it’s actually incredibly useful! Do you know what a linear gradient is?
It’s the most common type of gradient seen on the web where colors flow progressively on a straight line, in a single direction, whichever way you choose. If you’re unsure about linear gradients, we suggest you head over to one of our other articles that can explain this in greater detail.
A repeating linear gradient is as simple as it sounds – a repeating function of a linear gradient. Essentially, a clever way to organize syntax to get your linear gradient to repeat, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat for as long as you’d like.
Why Do We Care About Repeating Linear Gradients?
You’re probably thinking something along the lines of “why do we need repeating linear gradients, though?” And truthfully, that’s a valid point. If you’re familiar with CSS and linear gradients, you know that similar goals can be accomplished with a linear-gradient and a defined background size.
Often, using that strategy can result in a ton of extra work trying to get everything to fit just right. So, understanding repeating linear gradients can save you a ton of time and effort. Patterns, people. They’re easier when you use the repeating linear gradient function.
Think about things like stripes, they’re so much more easily accomplished with a simple syntax instead of stacking a bunch of linear gradient codes. For your ease and convenience, let’s learn how to write our own!
How to Create Your Own Repeating Linear Gradient
The Basics
Now that you understand why repeating linear gradients are important and useful for creating seamless linear gradient patterns, it’s time we teach you how to do them on your own. As always, you’ll need a firm grasp on all of the pieces that go into the CSS syntax to create your syntax. Let’s start with some of the basics:
Angle. Your angle is important as it defines the direction you want your gradient to go! If you don’t assign it, the angle will set a default of 180 degrees, but you can set it anywhere from 0deg to 360deg. Direction: This is just like how it works with a regular linear gradient. This will define the position that starts your gradient line. You need two keywords for this, one that will specify the horizontal side (think left or right) and the second that refers to the vertical side (think top or bottom). The good news? The order doesn’t matter.
Color Stops. Just like with a linear gradient, you’ll need at least two distinct color stops for the gradient to transition between. These are the points that tell the code where each color should start and stop along the gradient. Remember, your color units are names, rgb, rgba, hsl, and hsla.
The Syntax
Now that you know all the basic elements of what make up the formula for the perfect repeating linear gradient, it’s time to put them all together. The syntax for this function is as follows:
background: repeating-linear-gradient(angle | to side-or-corner, color-stop1, color-stop2, ...);This is simply combining all the pieces we talked about before to make the perfect, functional sentence! Simply take the angle you’d like your gradient to go, define which direction you’re hoping it to begin, and then assign the color stops. Repeating linear gradients are functional, easy-to-implement and can make great functions for your website design!
