Why Your CSS :hover Isn't Affecting Sibling Elements in WordPress Development (And How to Fix It)

Have you ever tried to apply a :hover effect in CSS, only to find it doesn't style the element you expected? You’re not alone.

Recently, while developing a WordPress Development theme, I ran into a common front-end problem: a CSS :hover effect on a link (<a>) wasn’t affecting a <span> that displayed next to it.

Here’s a simplified version of the HTML structure:

And the CSS I used:

But... nothing happened to the <span> on hover. Why?

💡 The Problem

The selector a:hover span only affects a <span> inside the <a>, like this:

But in the actual structure, the <span> is a sibling of the <a>, not a child — so the a:hover span rule doesn't apply.

✅ The Fix: Hover on the Parent

To fix this, target the parent element (<li> in this case) with the :hover, and apply styles to the <a> and <span> from there:

Now both the link and the count respond to the hover state correctly!

🛠 Alternative Fix: Wrap Both in <a>

If you want the hover behavior only when hovering the link, consider wrapping both the text and the span inside the <a> tag:

Then your original CSS works just fine.

🎯 Conclusion

This is a small but common issue that arises from misunderstanding HTML structure and CSS selectors. When debugging, always check:

• The actual element relationship (parent, child, sibling).

• Whether you're hovering the right element.

• If pseudo-classes like :hover are targeting elements appropriately.

Fixing this can greatly improve user experience, especially in interactive lists like post categories or navigation menus.