Issues with default CSS taking over my code

Question

I've been working on my donation website and I've come to find an issue where the default Buycraft css is taking over the css that I'm writing. I'm extremely new to css and I don't plan on doing it much in the future but for now I need help.

When I inspect element my navbar it gives me a few variables for .navbar .nav > li > a such as a color and a text shadow. I've tried to re-write the code for the text and it's to no avail. I copied it exactly like what inspect element has and I gave the variables !important but nothing changes. If anyone can tell me whats wrong with the navbar button text please help me out.

My website.

Code:

@import "http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Oswald:400,300";

body {
  background:url(http://i.imgur.com/tYtIxao.jpg?1);
  background-size:cover;
  background-repeat:no-repeat;
  background-attachment:fixed;
  padding:0;
  margin:0;
  height:100%
}

.navbar {
  background:#11CFD9;
  position:fixed;
  font-family:"Oswald";
  top:0;
  left:-5px;
  right:-5px;
  background-color:#11CFD9;
  color:#000!important;
  box-shadow:0 2px 2px 0 rgba(50,50,50,0.24);
  text-align:center;
  height:80px;
  display:block;
  padding-left:5%;
  padding-right:20%;
  z-index:10
}

.navbar-inner {
  background:#11CFD9;
  position:fixed;
  font-family:"Oswald";
  top:0;
  left:-5px;
  right:-5px;
  background-color:#11CFD9;
  font-size:x-large;
  text-align:center;
  display:block;
  padding-top:30px;
  padding-bottom:30px;
  padding-left:5%;
  padding-right:20%;
  z-index:10
}

.navbar .nav>li>a {
  float:none;
  padding:10px 15px;
  color:#000!important;
  text-decoration:none;
  text-shadow:0 0 0 #fff!important
}

.nav > li > a {
  display:block;
  color:#000!important
}

a {
  color:#08c;
  text-decoration:none
}

.navbar .nav > .active > a,.navbar .nav > .active > a:hover {
  color:#fff;
  height:auto;
  text-decoration:none;
  background-color:#11CFD9;
  -webkit-box-shadow:inset 0 0 0;
  -moz-box-shadow:inset 0 0 0;
  box-shadow:inset 0 0 0
}

ul.nav a:hover {
  color:#fff!important;
  background:#1CDBE6
}

.box-container .basket-dropdown {
  padding:20px;
  margin-left:-145px;
  margin-top:2px
}

.basket-dropdown .checkout {
  float:right
}

.checkout {
  z-index:9999;
  font-family:Oswald;
  font-weight:300
}

.row {
  margin-left:20px;
  margin-right:20px
}

.box-container .checkout {
  width:98%!important;
  float:none!important
}

.span11 {
  width:98%;
  float:none!important
}

.box {
  background:url();
  border:0!important;
  margin-top:130px;
  position:relative;
  padding-right:25px;
  padding-left:25px;
  width:100%
}

.box-container {
  font-family:Oswald;
  font-weight:300;
  margin-right:5px;
  margin-left:5px
}

.box-container .checkout {
  width:90%;
  position:relative;
  float:left;
  z-index:0;
  top:0
}

.box-container .header {
  background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/PzVJZ4V.png);
  background-color:#fff;
  border-top-left-radius:1px;
  border-top-right-radius:1px;
  -webkit-border-radius-topright:5px;
  -webkit-border-radius-topleft:5px;
  -border-radius-topright:5px;
  -border-radius-topleft:5px;
  height:33px;
  text-align:left;
  text-transform:uppercase;
  font-size:25px;
  padding-top:20px;
  font-family:Oswald;
  font-weight:300;
  border-radius:5px 5px 0 0
}

.box-container .content {
  opacity:.9!important
}

.span7 {
  width:60%;
  margin-left:20px;
  border-radius:10px
}

.span4 {
  width:25%;
  height:15%
}

.clear-fix {
  z-index:9999;
  top:0;
  opacity:.9
}

.logo {
  background:url();
  background-repeat:no-repeat;
  float:none;
  z-index:9999;
  position:fixed;
  left:25%;
  height:0!important;
  width:0!important
}

.logo span {
  opacity:0;
  color:#fff;
  font-size:0
}

em {
  color:red;
  font-weight:700;
  font-style:normal
}

/*Spinny Heads*/
.image {
  display:block;
  text-decoration:none;
  -webkit-transition:.5s all ease-in-out;
  -moz-transition:.5s all ease-in-out;
  -o-transition:.5s all ease-in-out;
  transition:.5s all ease-in-out
}

.image:hover {
  -webkit-transform:rotate(720deg) scale(1.5);
  -ms-transform:rotate(720deg) scale(1.5);
  -moz-transform:rotate(720deg) scale(1.5);
  -o-transform:rotate(720deg) scale(1.5);
  transform:rotate(720deg) scale(1.5)
}

.footer {
  height:60px;
  border-top:1px solid #000;
  background:orange;
  bottom:0;
  margin-right:0;
  margin-bottom:0;
  width:100%;
  z-index:99999;
  position:static;
  font-family:"Oswald";
  left:-5px;
  right:-5px;
  background-color:#11CFD9;
  color:#000!important;
  box-shadow:0 2px 2px 0 rgba(50,50,50,0.24);
  text-align:center;
  display:block
}

Answer 1

The browser decides which css selector is applied over the others depending on its weight. Usually you will find the term CSS specificity describing this.

In your case the .nav > li > a is interpreted to have a very low weight and is therefore overridden by your default stylesheet. If you remove the > symbols in those selectors it should still be the same result - since there are no nested a elements in the navigation bar you want to exclude, right?

The selector .nav li a has a bigger weight and should therefore take precedence. If that still does not help, please include the css-selector from your Buycraft css file, which is overriding your selector. So we can look at the specific weight of both in comparison.

Have a look at this answer here for another example.

---

A little background: the css specificity exists in order to make things like the following possible: Imagine, the links on your website should always be displayed in blue. But in your navigation, they should be black.

a { color: blue; }
.navbar a { color: black; }

Since the second selector is more specific, it takes precedence over the general links-are-blue selector and your navigational links are black.