Visual polish · Lesson 1 of 8 · 7 minutes

Visual polish: Button hierarchy

A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.

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Your objectives

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1
Build button hierarchy
Build this first target: button with padding: 0.75rem 1rem. Keep the selector relationships intact and inspect the preview.
Hint & worked example
A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.
The requested selectors and declarations exist outside comments.
```
button { padding: 0.75rem 1rem; }
```
Common mistake to avoid: If the page fits one desktop viewport, no narrower viewport needs checking.
2
Extend the button hierarchy example
Extend your file to include: button with padding: 0.75rem 1rem; .primary with background-color: #164e45, color: #ffffff. Keep the selector relationships intact and inspect the preview.
Hint & worked example
A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.
The requested selectors and declarations exist outside comments.
```
button { padding: 0.75rem 1rem; }
.primary { background-color: #164e45; color: #ffffff; }
```
Common mistake to avoid: Hiding all overflow always makes content accessible.
3
Verify the complete button hierarchy pattern
Finish the pattern with: button with padding: 0.75rem 1rem; .primary with background-color: #164e45, color: #ffffff; .secondary with background-color: #ffffff, color: #164e45, border: 1px solid #164e45. Keep the selector relationships intact and inspect the preview.
Hint & worked example
A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.
The requested selectors and declarations exist outside comments.
```
button { padding: 0.75rem 1rem; }
.primary { background-color: #164e45; color: #ffffff; }
.secondary { background-color: #ffffff; color: #164e45; border: 1px solid #164e45; }
```
Common mistake to avoid: If the page fits one desktop viewport, no narrower viewport needs checking.

Understand the pattern

A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.

Misconceptions to reject

If the page fits one desktop viewport, no narrower viewport needs checking.
Hiding all overflow always makes content accessible.

The preview is a sanitized subset, not a full browser compatibility test.

Worked example and expected result

button { padding: 0.75rem 1rem; }
.primary { background-color: #164e45; color: #ffffff; }
.secondary { background-color: #ffffff; color: #164e45; border: 1px solid #164e45; }

A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.

Try a variation

Adapt the final example to a different project name while retaining its structure and relationships. A different context still needs a real browser and accessibility check.

Explain it

Which statement correctly explains button hierarchy?Hiding all overflow always makes content accessible.A primary action deserves stronger visual emphasis than secondary controls without making either unreadable.If the page fits one desktop viewport, no narrower viewport needs checking.

Apply it elsewhere

You reuse button hierarchy in a different project. What must still be verified?The resulting layout, focus behavior, and readability at the target viewport sizes.Nothing; passing a single exercise guarantees every future use.Only whether the source code has the same number of lines.

Keep the momentum.

Complete the lab, then explain and apply the pattern.

Next: Visual polish: Focus rings Try an incident drill

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