HTML and CSS Certification Practice Test

The correct choice for setting the background color of an element in CSS is background-color. This property specifically targets the background of an element, allowing designers to specify a color using various formats such as named colors, hex codes, RGB, or HSL values. By applying this property, you can enhance the visual design of a web page, making elements stand out or providing a cohesive color scheme.

Using the background-color property directly affects only the background of the element, leaving the text color (which is adjusted by the color property) and other styles unaffected. This separation allows for greater control and flexibility when styling web pages.

The other options provided do not serve this purpose in modern CSS. The color property controls the text color rather than the background. The bgcolor attribute was used in HTML to set background colors but is now deprecated and not recommended for use in HTML5 and CSS. The fill property is specific to SVG graphics and controls the color of shapes, not the background of typical HTML elements.