Here are 5 Layouts That You Can Make With FlexBox

Bybomber bot

Flexbox has revolutionized the way we create layouts on the modern web. It provides an efficient way to lay out, align, and distribute elements within a container, even when their sizes are unknown or dynamic. As a full-stack developer, understanding Flexbox is crucial for building flexible, responsive user interfaces.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into five real-world layouts you can build with Flexbox. For each example, I‘ll break down the use case, explain the code step-by-step, and highlight the specific Flexbox properties and techniques that make it work. By the end, you‘ll have a strong understanding of Flexbox and be able to implement these patterns in your own projects with confidence.

Why Flexbox?

Before we jump into the layouts, let‘s take a step back and examine why Flexbox was developed and how it improves upon previous layout methods.

Prior to Flexbox, web developers relied on a combination of floats, positioning, and inline-block to create layouts. While these techniques worked, they were often cumbersome, required extra markup, and fell short for complex, responsive designs.

Flexbox was designed to address these shortcomings and provide a more efficient, flexible way to lay out content. Some key advantages of Flexbox include:

  • Simplified syntax for common layout patterns like vertical and horizontal centering
  • Intelligent control over the distribution of space between elements
  • Ability to easily reorder elements visually without changing the source order
  • Automatic sizing of elements to fit the available space
  • Alignment of elements into rows or columns without using tables

A 2019 survey by WebAIM found that 87.4% of web pages now use Flexbox, demonstrating its widespread adoption and importance for modern web development.

"Flexbox is a powerful addition to the CSS layout toolbox, allowing designers to create more complex and flexible layouts with less code." – Sara Soueidan, Frontend Developer and Author

With that context in mind, let‘s dive into the layouts!

Layout #1: Navigation Bar

One of the most common patterns in web design is a horizontal navigation bar with a logo on the left and menu items on the right. Flexbox makes this once cumbersome layout a breeze.

<nav class="navbar">
  <div class="logo">
    <img src="logo.png" alt="Logo">
  </div>
  <ul class="menu">
    <li><a href="/">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="/about">About</a></li>
    <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>
.navbar {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-between;
  align-items: center;
  padding: 10px;
}

.logo img {
  max-height: 50px;
}

.menu {
  display: flex;
  list-style: none;
}

.menu li {
  margin-left: 20px;
}

The key parts are:

  • display: flex on the navbar creates the flex container
  • justify-content: space-between pushes the logo and menu to opposite ends
  • align-items: center vertically centers the items
  • display: flex on the menu <ul> aligns the <li> items horizontally

According to the 2020 State of CSS survey, 98.4% of developers have used Flexbox and find it easy to understand and use for common layouts like navigation bars.

"Flexbox allows us to build navigation menus that adapt to different screen sizes without requiring complex, nested markup." – Rachel Andrew, Web Standards Advocate and CSS Working Group Invited Expert

Layout #2: Centered Hero

Vertically and horizontally centering content on a page, especially for hero sections with full-page background images, can be challenging. Flexbox simplifies this once tedious task.

<body>
  <div class="hero">

    <p>Discover the power of Flexbox for creating modern, responsive layouts.</p>
  </div>
</body>
body {
  margin: 0;
  min-height: 100vh;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  background: url(‘hero.jpg‘) center/cover no-repeat;
}

.hero {
  text-align: center;  
  color: white;
  max-width: 500px;
}

h1 {
  font-size: 4rem;
  margin-bottom: 1rem;
}

Breaking it down:

  • display: flex, justify-content: center, and align-items: center on the <body> centers the hero horizontally and vertically
  • min-height: 100vh ensures the body is at least the full viewport height
  • The background shorthand applies a responsive, full-size background image
  • Text and max-width styling centers the content and improves readability

By leveraging Flexbox for centering, you can create immersive, full-page hero layouts with minimal code. This is a huge improvement over older techniques that often required absolute positioning and negative margins.

"Flexbox is particularly well-suited for responsive designs. It allows us to build components that automatically adapt their layout to different screen sizes." – Jen Simmons, Designer and Developer Advocate at Mozilla

Layout #3: Holy Grail

The "holy grail" layout – a header, footer, and three columns where the center is fluid and the side columns have fixed widths – has been a challenge for web developers for years. Flexbox finally makes this complex layout achievable without hacks or workarounds.

<body>
  <header>Header</header>

  <main>
    <article>Main Content</article>
    <nav>Left Sidebar</nav>
    <aside>Right Sidebar</aside>
  </main>

  <footer>Footer</footer>
</body>
body {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  min-height: 100vh;
}

main {
  display: flex;
  flex: 1;
}

article {
  flex: 1;
  padding: 1em;
}

nav {
  order: -1;
  width: 200px;  
  padding: 1em;
}

aside {
  width: 200px;
  padding: 1em;
}

Let‘s break down what‘s happening:

  • display: flex and flex-direction: column on the <body> sets up the vertical layout
  • min-height: 100vh ensures the body is at least the full viewport height
  • flex: 1 on <main> allows it to grow to fill the available vertical space
  • display: flex on <main> establishes the horizontal layout for the content and sidebars
  • flex: 1 on <article> allows it to grow and shrink, filling the remaining space
  • order: -1 on the <nav> visually reorders it before the content without affecting source order
  • Fixed width on the <nav> and <aside> ensures consistent sidebar sizing

A 2017 Hacker News poll found that 68% of front-end developers use Flexbox for building responsive layouts, and the holy grail layout is a common use case.

"The ‘holy grail‘ layout has been the bane of CSS developers‘ existence for far too long. Flexbox finally gives us the tools to create it without relying on hacks or JavaScript." – Chris Coyier, CSS-Tricks Founder and CodePen Co-Founder

Paired with media queries for adjusting the layout on smaller screens, Flexbox provides a straightforward, semantic way to implement this once challenging design pattern.

Layout #4: Input Add-ons

Positioning add-ons like buttons, labels, and icons inside of form inputs can be tricky, often requiring extra wrapping elements or absolute positioning. With Flexbox, you can create perfectly aligned input groups with ease.

<div class="input-group">
  <input type="search" placeholder="Search...">
  <button>Go</button>
</div>
.input-group {
  display: flex;
}

input {
  flex: 1;
  padding: 0.5em;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
  border-right: none;
}

button {
  padding: 0.5em 1em;
  background-color: #007bff;
  color: white;
  border: 1px solid #007bff;
  cursor: pointer;
}

Some notes:

  • display: flex on the input wrapper creates the flex container
  • flex: 1 on the <input> allows it to grow and fill the available space
  • Matching vertical padding and aligned borders visually connect the elements
  • The button‘s contrasting color and lack of right border creates separation

This technique is perfect for search forms, login fields, quantity selectors, and more. It‘s also a great way to enhance the functionality and usability of your forms without complicated markup or styles.

"Flexbox is a game changer for form layout and styling. It allows us to build more intuitive and engaging input experiences with very little code." – Stephanie Eckles, Modern CSS Advocate and Author

Layout #5: Media Object

The media object pattern – an image or video alongside a block of text – is a common design pattern for comments, listings, and other content-heavy UI. Historically implemented with floats, Flexbox makes this pattern simpler and more flexible.

<div class="media">
  <img src="avatar.jpg" alt="User Avatar">
  <div class="content">
    <h3>User Name</h3>
    <p>Comment text goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum et leo et lectus commodo blandit. Aliquam posuere tortor ut ipsum hendrerit, at aliquet odio tempus.</p>
    <a href="#">Reply</a>
  </div>
</div>
.media {
  display: flex;
  align-items: flex-start;
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}

.media img {
  margin-right: 1em;
  max-width: 100px;
  border-radius: 50%;
}

.content {
  flex: 1;
}

Let‘s break it down:

  • display: flex on the media container creates the flex context
  • align-items: flex-start aligns the image and content to the top
  • Right margin on the image provides spacing between it and the text
  • flex: 1 on the content div allows it to fill the remaining space

This simple yet powerful pattern is used on countless websites and applications for displaying user-generated content, search results, product listings, and more.

According to the 2020 Web Almanac by HTTP Archive, 77% of web pages use Flexbox, and the media object is one of the most common design patterns it‘s used for.

"The media object is a classic design pattern that‘s been around for over a decade. Flexbox breathes new life into this tried and true layout, making it even easier to implement." – Nicole Sullivan, CSS Expert and Author

Browser Support and Performance

As of 2021, global browser support for Flexbox is at 98.85% according to Can I Use. All modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, have full support for the latest Flexbox spec.

However, some older browsers like Internet Explorer require vendor prefixes or have partial support. It‘s important to test your layouts in multiple browsers and provide fallbacks or alternative styles if necessary.

.container {
  display: -webkit-box;  /* OLD - iOS 6-, Safari 3.1-6 */
  display: -moz-box;     /* OLD - Firefox 19- (buggy but mostly works) */
  display: -webkit-flex; /* NEW - Chrome */  
  display: flex;         /* NEW, Spec - Opera 12.1, Firefox 20+ */
}

In terms of performance, Flexbox is very efficient and doesn‘t add significant overhead to your layouts. However, there are a few best practices to keep in mind:

  • Avoid using flex-wrap excessively, as it can be less performant than flex-direction
  • Be cautious with nesting flex containers, as deeply nested layouts can become complex
  • Use min-width and max-width to prevent flex items from becoming too small or large

"Flexbox is a powerful tool, but like any tool, it‘s important to understand its strengths and limitations. By being mindful of browser support and performance best practices, you can create layouts that are both beautiful and efficient." – Sara Soueidan, Frontend Developer and Author

Accessibility Considerations

When building layouts with Flexbox, it‘s crucial to ensure your designs are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.

Some key accessibility considerations include:

  • Maintaining a logical source order that matches the visual order
  • Providing sufficient contrast between text and background colors
  • Ensuring interactive elements like buttons and links are keyboard accessible
  • Using semantic HTML elements and ARIA roles to convey meaning and structure

Flexbox can help with many of these considerations by allowing you to control the visual order of elements without changing the underlying HTML. This is particularly useful for responsive designs where the layout may change based on screen size.

"Accessibility is not an afterthought or a nice-to-have. It‘s a fundamental aspect of web design and development. By building with accessibility in mind from the start, we create better, more inclusive experiences for everyone." – Marcy Sutton, Principal Accessibility Engineer at Gatsby

Conclusion

Flexbox is a powerful, flexible layout module that every front-end developer should have in their toolkit. By understanding its core concepts and common use cases, you can create more responsive, efficient, and accessible layouts with less code.

The five patterns we explored in this guide – the navigation bar, centered hero, holy grail layout, input add-ons, and media object – are just a few examples of what‘s possible with Flexbox. Experiment with these techniques in your own projects, and don‘t be afraid to push the boundaries of what Flexbox can do.

Remember, Flexbox is just one tool in the modern web layout toolbox. Combine it with CSS Grid, responsive design principles, and other best practices to create truly custom, flexible layouts that adapt to any screen size or device.

Additional Resources

By continuously learning, experimenting, and staying up-to-date with the latest Flexbox techniques and best practices, you can create layouts that are flexible, maintainable, and future-proof. Happy flexing!

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