CSS Website Layout
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 8:24 am
CSS Website Layout
Website Layout
A website is often divided into headers, menus, content and a footer:
Header
Navigation Menu
Content
Main Content
Content
Footer
There are tons of different layout designs to choose from. However, the structure above, is one of the most common, and we will take a closer look at it in this tutorial.
Header
A header is usually located at the top of the website (or right below a top navigation menu). It often contains a logo or the website name:
Example
.header { background-color: #F1F1F1; text-align:
center; padding: 20px;}
Result
Header
Try it Yourself »
Navigation Bar
A navigation bar contains a list of links to help visitors navigating through your website:
Example
/* The navbar container */.topnav { overflow: hidden;
background-color: #333;}/* Navbar links */.topnav a { float:
left; display: block; color:
#f2f2f2; text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px; text-decoration: none;}
/* Links - change color on hover */.topnav a:hover {
background-color: #ddd; color: black;}
Result
Link
Link
Link
Try it Yourself »
Content
The layout in this section, often depends on the target users. The most common layout is
one (or combining them) of the following:
1-column (often used for mobile browsers)
2-column (often used for tablets and laptops)
3-column layout (only used for desktops)
1-column:
2-column:
3-column:
We will create a 3-column layout, and change it to a 1-column layout on smaller screens:
Example
/* Create three equal columns that float next to each other */.column {
float: left; width: 33.33%;}/* Clear floats after the
columns */.row:after { content: "";
display: table; clear: both;}/* Responsive
layout - makes the three columns stack on top of each other instead of next
to each other on smaller screens (600px wide or less) */@media screen and (max-width:
600px) { .column
{ width: 100%; }}
Result
ColumnLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique.
ColumnLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique.
ColumnLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique.
Try it Yourself »
Tip: To create a 2-column layout, change the width to 50%. To create a 4-column layout, use 25%, etc.
Tip: Do you wonder how the @media rule works? Read more about
it in our CSS Media Queries chapter.
Tip: A more modern way of creating column layouts, is to use CSS Flexbox.
However, it is not supported in Internet Explorer 10 and earlier versions. If you require IE6-10 support, use floats (as shown above).
To learn more about the Flexible Box Layout Module, read our
CSS Flexbox chapter.
Unequal Columns
The main content is the biggest and the most important part of your site.
It is common with unequal column widths, so that most of the space
is reserved for
the main content. The side content (if any) is often used as an alternative
navigation or to specify information relevant to the main content. Change the widths as you like, only remember that it should add up to 100% in total:
Example
.column { float: left;}/* Left and right column */
.column.side { width: 25%;}/* Middle column */.column.middle
{ width: 50%;}/* Responsive layout - makes
the three columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) { .column.side, .column.middle
{ width: 100%; }}
Result
SideLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
Main ContentLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique. Quisque vehicula, risus eget aliquam placerat, purus leo tincidunt eros, eget luctus quam orci in velit. Praesent scelerisque tortor sed accumsan convallis.
SideLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
Try it Yourself »
Footer
The footer is placed at the bottom of your page. It often contains
information like copyright and contact info:
Example
.footer { background-color: #F1F1F1; text-align:
center; padding: 10px;}
Result
Footer
Try it Yourself »
Responsive Website Layout
By using some of the CSS code above, we have created a responsive website layout, which varies between two columns and full-width columns depending on screen width:
Try it Yourself »
Ever heard about W3Schools Spaces? Here you can create your website from scratch or use a template, and host it for free.
Get started for free ❯
* no credit card required
★
+1
Reference: https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_website_layout.asp
Website Layout
A website is often divided into headers, menus, content and a footer:
Header
Navigation Menu
Content
Main Content
Content
Footer
There are tons of different layout designs to choose from. However, the structure above, is one of the most common, and we will take a closer look at it in this tutorial.
Header
A header is usually located at the top of the website (or right below a top navigation menu). It often contains a logo or the website name:
Example
.header { background-color: #F1F1F1; text-align:
center; padding: 20px;}
Result
Header
Try it Yourself »
Navigation Bar
A navigation bar contains a list of links to help visitors navigating through your website:
Example
/* The navbar container */.topnav { overflow: hidden;
background-color: #333;}/* Navbar links */.topnav a { float:
left; display: block; color:
#f2f2f2; text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px; text-decoration: none;}
/* Links - change color on hover */.topnav a:hover {
background-color: #ddd; color: black;}
Result
Link
Link
Link
Try it Yourself »
Content
The layout in this section, often depends on the target users. The most common layout is
one (or combining them) of the following:
1-column (often used for mobile browsers)
2-column (often used for tablets and laptops)
3-column layout (only used for desktops)
1-column:
2-column:
3-column:
We will create a 3-column layout, and change it to a 1-column layout on smaller screens:
Example
/* Create three equal columns that float next to each other */.column {
float: left; width: 33.33%;}/* Clear floats after the
columns */.row:after { content: "";
display: table; clear: both;}/* Responsive
layout - makes the three columns stack on top of each other instead of next
to each other on smaller screens (600px wide or less) */@media screen and (max-width:
600px) { .column
{ width: 100%; }}
Result
ColumnLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique.
ColumnLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique.
ColumnLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique.
Try it Yourself »
Tip: To create a 2-column layout, change the width to 50%. To create a 4-column layout, use 25%, etc.
Tip: Do you wonder how the @media rule works? Read more about
it in our CSS Media Queries chapter.
Tip: A more modern way of creating column layouts, is to use CSS Flexbox.
However, it is not supported in Internet Explorer 10 and earlier versions. If you require IE6-10 support, use floats (as shown above).
To learn more about the Flexible Box Layout Module, read our
CSS Flexbox chapter.
Unequal Columns
The main content is the biggest and the most important part of your site.
It is common with unequal column widths, so that most of the space
is reserved for
the main content. The side content (if any) is often used as an alternative
navigation or to specify information relevant to the main content. Change the widths as you like, only remember that it should add up to 100% in total:
Example
.column { float: left;}/* Left and right column */
.column.side { width: 25%;}/* Middle column */.column.middle
{ width: 50%;}/* Responsive layout - makes
the three columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) { .column.side, .column.middle
{ width: 100%; }}
Result
SideLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
Main ContentLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sit amet pretium urna. Vivamus venenatis velit nec neque ultricies, eget elementum magna tristique. Quisque vehicula, risus eget aliquam placerat, purus leo tincidunt eros, eget luctus quam orci in velit. Praesent scelerisque tortor sed accumsan convallis.
SideLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
Try it Yourself »
Footer
The footer is placed at the bottom of your page. It often contains
information like copyright and contact info:
Example
.footer { background-color: #F1F1F1; text-align:
center; padding: 10px;}
Result
Footer
Try it Yourself »
Responsive Website Layout
By using some of the CSS code above, we have created a responsive website layout, which varies between two columns and full-width columns depending on screen width:
Try it Yourself »
Ever heard about W3Schools Spaces? Here you can create your website from scratch or use a template, and host it for free.
Get started for free ❯
* no credit card required
★
+1
Reference: https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_website_layout.asp