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Layouts Reinvented – CSS Grid Tutorial

#css#grid#layout

CSS Grid reached stable status in 2017, unlocking direct control over rows and columns without float or flex hacks.

Core ideas

  • A grid container establishes rows and columns.
  • Child elements become grid items you can place precisely.
  • Gaps create gutters without extra markup.
  • Media queries or the repeat() function adapt layouts easily.

Basic grid

.gallery {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  grid-template-rows: masonry;
  gap: 1rem;
}

<section class="gallery">
  <img src="img1.jpg" alt="…" />
  <img src="img2.jpg" alt="…" />
  <img src="img3.jpg" alt="…" />
  <!-- more -->
</section>
  • repeat(3, 1fr) creates three equal columns.
  • gap adds uniform spacing.

Named areas

.article {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-areas:
    "header header"
    "sidebar main"
    "footer footer";
  grid-template-columns: 250px 1fr;
  gap: 1rem;
}

.header  { grid-area: header; }
.sidebar { grid-area: sidebar; }
.main    { grid-area: main; }
.footer  { grid-area: footer; }

<article class="article">
  <header class="header">Header</header>
  <aside  class="sidebar">Sidebar</aside>
  <section class="main">Main content</section>
  <footer class="footer">Footer</footer>
</article>

The template string describes layout visually.

Auto‑placing cards

.cards {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(200px, 1fr));
  gap: 1rem;
}

Cards wrap and stretch to fill available space, ideal for responsive dashboards.

Aligning and spacing

  • justify-items controls horizontal alignment inside cells.
  • align-items handles vertical alignment.
  • justify-content and align-content distribute the entire grid if track sizes do not fill the container.
.centered {
  display: grid;
  place-items: center; /* shorthand for align-items + justify-items */
}

Grid + Flexbox

Use Grid for overall page structure, then Flexbox inside items for one‑dimensional alignment, such as centering content within a card.

Browser support checklist

  • Works in modern Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge released in 2017.
  • Use @supports (display: grid) to progressively enhance older browsers.
  • Fallbacks: fall back to flex layouts or single‑column flow when Grid unsupported.

Next steps

  1. Experiment with grid-auto-flow: dense for masonry effects.
  2. Combine Grid with minmax() and auto-fit to create fluid layouts.
  3. Use fragment identifiers like grid-column: 1 / -1 to span full width when needed.

CSS Grid frees layouts from the limitations of floats and complex media queries, giving you direct, powerful tools for two‑dimensional design.