How would you make a list display horizontally in CSS?

To achieve a horizontal display of a list in CSS, setting the display property to inline on the list items is the correct approach. When you apply display: inline; to the list items, it changes their default block behavior (which stacks elements vertically) to an inline format, allowing them to flow in a single line horizontally alongside each other.

This method is effective because inline elements do not create line breaks before or after themselves, allowing the list items to sit next to one another. Additionally, it ensures that any styling applied to the list items can still be retained, such as padding or margins, albeit with some considerations regarding how these properties interact with inline elements.

Using options like float or modifying list-style-type does not directly address making the items display horizontally. Floats can achieve a similar effect but may lead to more complex layout issues, requiring additional clearing mechanisms. Setting display to block will cause the elements to stack vertically, which is contrary to the goal of a horizontal display.