Grid & Media Queries

Follow along with code examples here!

• Terms

• Grid vs Flexbox

• Grid Template Columns and Fractional Units

• Media Queries

• Spanning Rows and Columns

  • Grid Tracks

• Bonus! - Flexbox Media Query Challenge

• Grid Areas

• Grid Alignment

Terms

• CSS Grid is a display type that is useful for arranging items in a container into rows and columns!

  • By default, grid items are arranged in a single column

• The fr unit (the "fractional unit") is unique to grid. It evenly distributes the grid container's available width to each grid item without overflowing.

• Grid Tracks are numbered starting at 1 and go between columns and rows.

• Grid Properties

  • grid-template-columns defines for the grid container the number of columns and the width of each column

    • grid-auto-rows controls the size of newly created rows

    • grid-column determines which column a grid item will start in (and, optionally, which column it will end in)

    • grid-row determines which row a grid item will start in (and, optionally, which row it will end in)

  • grid-template-area defines the layout and size of the grid-areas (see below) within the grid container.

    • grid-area assigns a grid-area name to a grid item

• Media queries allow us to apply CSS in response to changes to the device's screen size (and other things too!). They are how we implement responsive web design, ensuring usability across all devices.

• Breakpoints are points at which a responsive web design will shift. We set them using @media (min-width) and @media(max-width)

• Mobile-First Design is a strategy for designing our websites for mobile devices and using media queries to modify that design for progressively larger screens.

.grid-container { 
  display: grid;
}


/* Small devices (landscape phones, 576px and up) */
@media (min-width: 576px) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
  }
}

/* Medium devices (tablets, 768px and up) */
@media (min-width: 768px) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  }
}

/* Large devices (desktops, 992px and up) */
@media (min-width: 992px) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr);
  }
}

Grid vs Flexbox

We've learned that Flexbox is a display type that allows us to arrange items inside a container into rows OR columns.

Grid on the other hand is a display type that allows us to arrange items inside a container into rows AND columns

Flexbox lets us make one dimensional layouts while grid lets us make two-dimensional layouts

Q: Consider the gallery in the image below. It is made using grid. How many rows and columns are there in the photo gallery example from the previous part?

There are 5 columns and 5 rows

In a grid, grid items can span across multiple rows and/or columns

An example of a website using grid to make a photo gallery. There are 5 columns and 5 rows.

Grid Template Columns and Fractional Units

By default, a grid will have only 1 column. We can add additional columns using grid-template-columns:

.grid-container { 
  display: grid;
  /* make 2 columns. The first will be 100px wide, the second will be 200px wide. */
  grid-template-columns: 100px 200px; 
}

The fr unit (the "fractional unit") is unique to grid. It evenly distributes the grid container's available width to each grid item without overflowing.

.grid-container { 
  display: grid;
  /* make 4 equally sized columns that take up all available space */
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr; 
}

We often simplify this using the repeat() function:

The fr unit (the "fractional unit") is unique to grid. It evenly distributes the grid container's available width to each grid item without overflowing.

.grid-container { 
  display: grid;
  /* make 4 equally sized columns that take up all available space */
  grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr) 
}

Q: There are 9 elements but only 4 columns. What do you notice happens when the elements overflow? How is the row height determined?

Answer

• If there are more elements than columns, they will flow into a new row that is created automatically.

• By default, row height is determined by the largest row item.

• Use grid-auto-rows: 1fr; to make all rows have equal size.

Q: How would you adjust this to make columns of different sizes? For example, make the middle two columns twice as wide as the outer two.

Answer

We can make columns of different sizes by adjusting the relative fr units. To make the middle columns twice as wide as the outer columns, use 2fr instead of 1fr

grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr 2fr 1fr; /* make 4 equal-sized columns */

Media Queries

Media queries allow us to apply CSS in response to changes to the device's screen size (and other things too!). Media queries are how we implement responsive web design, ensuring usability across all devices.

Breakpoints are points at which a responsive web design will shift. Below are commonly agreed upon breakpoints for web development. They don't target every specific use case or device, but the ranges provide broad coverage.

Breakpoint	Dimensions
X-Small Devices (portrait phones)	< 576px
Small Devices (landscape phones)	≥ 576px
Medium Devices (tables)	≥ 768px
Large Devices (desktops)	≥ 992px
X-Large Devices (large desktops)	≥ 1200px
XX-Large Devices (larger desktops)	≥ 1400px

Challenge: At 700px and 900px, change the number of columns to 2 and then to 3.

Answer

To set the number of grid columns to 2 at 700 pixels, we need to add a second ruleset to the media query.

@media (min-width: 700px) {
  .box {
    background: orchid;
  }
  .container {
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
  }
}

Spanning Rows and Columns

In a grid, the position of grid-items can span multiple rows and/or columns

A grid with 2 columns and 4 rows. An element on the first row spans both columns. An element on the second row spans only the left column. An element on the third row also only spans the left column. A single element in the right column spans rows 2 and 3. Finally an element in the fourth row spans both columns.

Q: How many rows and columns does this layout have?

Answer

Grid Tracks

• Grid Tracks are numbered starting at 1 and go between columns and rows.

• Grid track numbers can be used to span grid items across columns and/or rows using grid-row and grid-column

.grid-item:nth-child(1) {
  grid-row: 1;
  grid-column: 1 / 3;
}
.grid-item:nth-child(4) {
  grid-row: 2;
  grid-column: 2 / 4
}
.grid-item:nth-child(5) {
  grid-row: 1 / 3;
  grid-column: 3
}

• To specify the starting row / column for a grid-item, simply provide the grid track number as the value.

• To span across multiple rows/columns, the syntax is start-row / end-row

Challenge: Using media queries and grid-row/grid-column, produce the grid layout below for screen sizes above 992px

A grid layout with two rows and four columns. The first row has a grid item spanning columns 1 and 2, a grid item in column 3, and a grid item spanning from row 1 to row 2. The second row has a a grid item in column 1, a grid item spanning columns 2 and 3, and the bottom of the grid item in column 3 that spans both rows.

Answer

@media (min-width: 992px) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr;
  }
  .grid-item:nth-child(1) {
    grid-row: 1;
    grid-column: 1 / 3;
  }
  .grid-item:nth-child(4) {
    grid-row: 2;
    grid-column: 2 / 4;
  }
  .grid-item:nth-child(5) {
    grid-row: 1 / 3;
    grid-column: 4;
  }
}

Bonus! - Flexbox Media Query Challenge

Using media queries and the display: flex properties, achieve the responsive design below starting with the code found in 5-responsive-flexbox-challenge/

Q: What do you notice if different about the two layouts?

Answer

• Mobile view: navigation links are in a row and are above the main

• Desktop view: navigation links are in a column and are to the side of main

Grid Areas

Grid Alignment

Honestly, to learn about alignment, just visit Josh Comeau's interactive guide to CSS grid but here are the bullets.

Controlling the Horizontal Alignment of Columns

• justify-content controls the horizontal alignment of the columns within the entire grid

• justify-items controls the horizontal alignment of each item within its own column

• justify-self controls the horizontal alignment of a single item within the grid.

A screenshot from Josh Comeau's blog on CSS Grid showing the justify content property

Controlling the Vertical Alignment of Rows

• align-content controls the vertical alignment of the rows within the entire grid

• align-items controls the vertical alignment of each item within its own row

• align-self controls the vertical alignment of a single item within the grid.