Why are double quotes shown only for the first element?

Digging deeper into quoting mechanisms

When your HTML seems spotless and the quoting anomaly persists, it's time to turn our detective gaze at the CSS and rendering behavior. At times, browsers might assume nested quotes if they are not correctly closed using related CSS rules.

Control of the ways quotation marks apply to elements hangs in the balance of the quotes CSS property. If the quotes aren't efficiently balanced in your CSS with conjugate ::before and ::after pseudo-elements, the browser will take the liberty to display a different quote type per the current open/close-quote count.

So, use the content property within your ::before and ::after CSS pseudo-elements shrewdly to attain a balanced and consistent quotation mark display. This way, you stop the browser from generating unnecessary nested or singular quotes.

Mastering quotes with CSS

Controlling quoting depth

Control over quoting depth offers an upper hand in managing the display of your elements. As mapped out in CSS2 spec 12.3.2, each open-quote or close-quote pair escalates or decreases the quoting depth. Harness this mechanism to prevent your browser from defaulting to unexpected single quotes on the following elements with no-close-quote.

Deploying ::before and ::after pseudo-elements

You can introduce the needed balance:

element::before {
  content: open-quote; /* Open sesame! */
}

element::after {
  content: close-quote; /* All good things must come to an end */
}


This combination ensures each quote is gracefully terminated.

Defining quote types

Specify primary and secondary quotes for diverse quotation levels by tweaking the quotes property:

element {
  quotes: '"' '"' "'" "'"; /* to quote or not to quote */
}


This hint helps the browser maneuver accurately between double and single quotes.

Ensuring accuracy in attribute quotes

Quoting as a rule

Although HTML5 is tolerant towards unquoted attributes, always embrace attribute values in quotes to uphold XHTML compatibility and prohibit unexpected quirks.

Safeguard with proper escaping

When your attribute values house characters like ", ', or >, it's essential to escape these characters correctly to avoid syntax errors.

HTML validation for a smooth journey

To unearth these often subtle issues, resort to tools like the W3C Markup Validation Service. It will help you trap unnoticed quoting problems and other HTML errors.

Catering to edge cases

Watch out for legacy systems or custom parsers that might not strictly adhere to the HTML5 specifications. Consistent quoting aids in clear communication in these instances.

Troubleshooting problems

Debug with developer tools

Modern browsers are equipped with developer tools. Use them to inspect elements and see the computed CSS to understand how quotes are applied or why they are missing.

Simplifying complexities

In situations of confusion, simplify your HTML and CSS. Step by step, build up the complexity to identify when the quoting behavior alters.

JavaScript impacts

JavaScript, when playing with DOM, might influence quotes, especially if it's modifying attributes dynamically. Scrutinize your scripts for potential quote stripping.