Css Grid Playground: Learn Css Grid with Real-World Examples

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Posted Nov 14, 2024

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Black and white notebook page with an inspirational quote and eye illustration on a grid background.
Credit: pexels.com, Black and white notebook page with an inspirational quote and eye illustration on a grid background.

Learning CSS Grid can seem daunting at first, but with the right tools and examples, it's a breeze. CSS Grid Playground is an amazing resource for learning CSS Grid with real-world examples.

One of the most valuable features of CSS Grid Playground is its grid template area, which allows you to create complex grid layouts with ease. By using the grid-template-areas property, you can define areas of the grid and assign them to specific elements.

With CSS Grid Playground, you can create a layout like the one in the "Grid Template Areas" example, where you have a header, main content, and sidebar. This is achieved by using the grid-template-areas property and assigning areas to specific elements.

In the "Grid Template Columns" example, you can see how to create multiple columns in a grid layout using the grid-template-columns property. This is especially useful for creating responsive designs that adapt to different screen sizes.

Getting Started

Credit: youtube.com, Get started with grid WITHOUT being overwhelmed

CSS Grid is a powerful tool for building responsive web layouts, and it's surprisingly easy to get started.

You can start using CSS Grid by creating a container element and setting its display property to grid. This will create a grid container that can hold multiple grid items.

To add grid items, simply add elements inside the grid container and they will automatically become grid items. The grid items will then be arranged according to the grid layout defined by the grid container.

Introduction

Getting started with a project can be as simple as creating a virtual realm for pet enthusiasts, like Alex did in "Pet's House". Alex, a web developer, aimed to revamp the service showcase using CSS Grid.

The goal was to present services in an organized and visually appealing manner, which is exactly what Alex achieved.

Grid layout is a powerful tool in CSS, and understanding how it works is essential for building responsive and flexible layouts. By default, CSS Grid uses a single column and creates rows as needed, based on the number of children, which is known as an implicit grid.

View of city skyline framed by a modern metal grid structure, showing architectural innovation.
Credit: pexels.com, View of city skyline framed by a modern metal grid structure, showing architectural innovation.

This means that each child gets its own row, and the grid parent's height is determined by its children. However, if you give the grid a fixed height, the total surface area is divided into equally-sized rows.

Implicit grids are dynamic, and rows will be added and removed based on the number of children. To create a more explicit grid structure, you can use the grid-template-columns and grid-template-rows properties.

Grid areas are a more ergonomic way to define the grid structure, allowing you to give semantic meaning to your grid assignments. By defining the grid structure with grid-template-columns and grid-template-rows, and then using the grid-area property to assign children to specific areas, you can create a more maintainable and scalable layout.

However, areas work best when the grid has a fixed number of rows and columns, and grid-column and grid-row can be useful for implicit grids. To control the distribution of columns, you can use the justify-content property, which allows you to arrange the compartments of your grid, distributing them across the grid however you wish.

Understanding Grid

Credit: youtube.com, Learn CSS Grid - A 13 Minute Deep Dive

Understanding Grid is a fundamental concept in CSS Grid. Grid is defined purely in CSS, allowing you to create complex layouts that adapt to various constraints.

You can think of grid as a set of rows and columns that intersect to form a grid structure. This structure is defined using CSS properties such as grid-template-columns and grid-template-rows.

CSS Grid is incredibly powerful, and one of its key features is the ability to define a grid structure with a single DOM node. This is in contrast to other layout modes, like Table layout, which require additional DOM nodes to create rows and cells.

Here are some key properties to help you understand grid:

  • grid-template-columns: defines the number of columns in a grid
  • grid-template-rows: defines the number of rows in a grid
  • grid-column: specifies the column where an element should be placed
  • grid-row: specifies the row where an element should be placed

With CSS Grid, you can also use properties like repeat, column-gap, and row-gap to create a more complex grid structure. For example, you can use the repeat function to create multiple rows or columns with a single property.

By understanding the basics of grid, you can start building more complex and responsive layouts using CSS Grid.

Visualizing Grid

Credit: youtube.com, Developer Playground: CSS Grid 3 - Firefox Inspector

You can build and play with grids directly in the browser using visual playground tools, such as Sarah Edo's tool for creating and building your own grid system.

GRID: A simple visual cheatsheet for CSS Grid Layout, created by Malven Co., lets you copy and paste properties when you click on them.

CSS Grid Layout visual Playgrounds & Generators are a great way to learn by playing with code and properties directly in the browser.

A tool like GRID can save you time by providing a visual reference for CSS Grid Layout properties.

Sarah Edo's tool is perfect for building and playing with grids to master the specs.

You can use visual cheatsheets like GRID to quickly reference CSS Grid Layout properties and copy and paste them when needed.

CSS Grid Layout is a powerful tool for creating complex layouts, and visualizing it can make it easier to understand and use.

Olivia Ng's demo, CSS Grid Floor Plan, shows how you can even use CSS to map your house.

GRID: A simple visual cheatsheet for CSS Grid Layout, is a great resource for anyone learning CSS Grid Layout.

Designing with Grid

Credit: youtube.com, Developer Playground: CSS Grid 4 - Units

Designing with Grid is a straightforward process, especially with the right tools.

Ant Design divides the design area into 24 sections, using a 12 Grids System to ensure a high level of visual comfort.

To get started, you can use a 24 grid layout to define the width of each "box", but feel free to deviate from the grid layout if needed.

This flexibility is one of the key benefits of using a grid system.

Design Concept

Dividing the design area into smaller sections is key to solving information storage problems, which is why Ant Design uses a 12 Grids System to create 24 sections, called "boxes".

Boxes are arranged horizontally, with a maximum of four boxes and a minimum of one, to ensure a clean and organized layout.

The boxes are proportional to the entire screen, which helps to create a sense of balance and harmony.

Custom typography is used within each box to enhance visual comfort and make the design more readable.

A 24 grid layout is used to define the width of each box, but it's not strictly adhered to, allowing for flexibility and creativity in the design process.

By Example

Credit: youtube.com, How to design AWESOME layouts using grid systems | Grid layout in graphic design | Design grids

Learning to design with CSS Grid Layout can be a daunting task, but one great way to get started is to take a look at some examples.

A great resource for this is the Grid by example site curated by Rachel Andrew. It's a collection of examples explained to achieve different layouts with CSS Grid Layout.

The site is like a playground where you can play with a built grid and test different properties.

Ann Predovic

Lead Writer

Ann Predovic is a seasoned writer with a passion for crafting informative and engaging content. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for research, she has established herself as a go-to expert in various fields, including technology and software. Her writing career has taken her down a path of exploring complex topics, making them accessible to a broad audience.

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