What is grid?
A grid is a layout system that lets you arrange elements on a web page in rows and columns, like a spreadsheet. It gives you a flexible way to place items exactly where you want them, without using lots of floats or positioning tricks.
Let's break it down
Think of a grid as a invisible box divided into horizontal lines (rows) and vertical lines (columns). You tell the browser how many rows and columns you need, how wide or tall each should be, and then you put your content into the cells. You can also make items span across multiple rows or columns.
Why does it matter?
Because it makes building complex, responsive designs much easier. Instead of writing many CSS rules to line things up, you define a grid once and let the browser handle the placement. This leads to cleaner code, faster development, and layouts that adapt smoothly to different screen sizes.
Where is it used?
- Modern websites and web apps for page layouts, dashboards, galleries, and forms.
- Email templates that need a reliable grid structure.
- Prototyping tools that mimic CSS Grid to let designers experiment with layouts before coding.
Good things about it
- Simple syntax:
display: grid;and a few lines to set rows/columns. - Powerful control: you can align items, create gaps, and make elements span multiple cells.
- Built‑in responsiveness: using
frunits,auto-fit, and media queries makes layouts adapt automatically. - Reduces need for extra wrappers or float hacks, keeping HTML cleaner.
Not-so-good things
- Older browsers (like Internet Explorer) have limited or no support, so you may need fallbacks.
- Learning curve: understanding tracks, lines, and placement properties can be confusing at first.
- Over‑engineering: for very simple layouts, a grid might be overkill compared to flexbox or basic block styling.