CSS Grid Vs Flexbox

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet, which plays an important role in designing the layouts and appearance of websites. It allows you to create various layouts using CSS grid and flexbox. Grid and Flexbox are two of the most important tools used by developers to build modern and responsive web interfaces. In this blog, you will learn everything about CSS grid and flexbox with examples, understand their key differences, and learn when to use each layout system.

Table of Contents:

• What is CSS?
• CSS Grid Layout
  • Example: Creating a Basic Grid Element
  • Advantages of Using CSS Grid
  • Disadvantages of Using CSS Grid
• CSS Flexbox Layout
  • Example: Creating a Basic Flexbox Element
  • Advantages of Using Flexbox
  • Disadvantages of Using Flexbox
• Difference Between CSS Grid and Flexbox
• When to Use Grid
• When to Use Flexbox
• Best Practices for Grid vs Flexbox
  • For CSS Grid
  • For CSS Flexbox
• Conclusion

What is CSS?

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet. It is used with HTML to style the webpage and create the layout by applying properties to HTML elements.

Before you start learning about the difference between Grid and Flexbox in CSS, it is important to know about the layout systems. Websites that are built by developers contain multiple sections like headers, footers, sidebars, and content blocks. This is where layout systems like CSS Grid and Flexbox come into play.

CSS Grid Layout

CSS Grid is defined as a two-dimensional layout system that allows you to work with rows and columns. You can arrange different elements of websites in the form of rows and columns. Thus, it is good for creating complex layouts.

Example: Creating a Basic Grid Element

//index.html

//style.css

.container {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
    gap: 10px;
    background-color: black;
}
.item {
    color: white;
    padding: 20px;
    border: 1px solid #fff;
    text-align: center;
}

Output:

Explanation: In this example, you are creating the basic grid layout using HTML and CSS. Here is the explanation of each and every line used in the code:

• A div having the container class becomes a grid container.
• grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr) creating two columns of equal width.
• gap: 10px adds spacing between the two columns.
• Each <div> having the item class is styled with white text, padding, a border, and centered content.

Advantages of Using CSS Grid 

• Excellent for complex and structured layouts
• CSS Grid allows you to name grid areas and place items using those names

Disadvantages of Using CSS Grid

• Difficult learning curve
• If used for simple layouts, make them complex.

Master the Art of Building Websites

Enroll Today

Explore Program

CSS Flexbox Layout

Flexbox is a one-dimensional layout system that deals with either rows or columns, not both simultaneously. It works well with all types of devices and screen sizes.

Example: Creating a Basic Flexbox Element

//index.html

//style.css

.container {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100vh;
    background-color: antiquewhite;
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
}
.item {
    background-color: black;
    color: white;
    border: 1px solid #fff;
    padding: 20px;
    text-align: center;
}

Output:

Explanation: In this example, you are creating a flexbox layout using the display: flex property. At the time when you are setting the display property to flex, two axes are created in the horizontal and vertical direction, called as main-axis(horizontal side) and cross-axis(vertical side). Here, align-items: center sets the <div> (having the container class) at center along the cross-axis, and justify-content: center can set the same <div> to the center along the main-axis.

Advantages of Using Flexbox

• It is simple and easy to implement.
• Mostly used to create smaller components.

Disadvantages of Using Flexbox

• Not used in creating layouts having more rows and columns.
• Limited control over rows and columns.

Difference Between CSS Grid and Flexbox

When to Use Grid

Here are some of the areas where CSS grid layout is used:

• It is used to create a full web page layout where you can add different elements in the form of rows and columns.
• To control the layout structure, like placing headers, footers, sidebars, and main content.
• To create an overlapping element with precision.

When to Use Flexbox

Here are some of the areas where CSS Flexbox layout is used:

• To design smaller parts of a page, such as navbars, form controls, or card layouts.
• To create an element that can adjust to every screen size based on dynamically changing content.
• When you need to align elements easily along a single axis.

Best Practices for Grid vs Flexbox

CSS Grid and Flexbox are important components in creating a website layout. Here are some important steps that you need to follow while working with Grid and Flexbox in CSS.

For CSS Grid

• To create more readable layouts, always use named areas 
• Don’t create deeply nested grids, because these can create a complex layout
• Use media queries to create responsive layouts.

For CSS Flexbox

• Set suitable properties for justify-content and align-items 
• Use margin auto and gap for spacing between elements.
• Avoid using Flexbox for creating two-dimensional layouts.

Conclusion

CSS Grid and Flexbox are important concepts used by developers to design various layouts. By learning these concepts, anyone can create better layouts. Both Grids and Flexbox have different use cases. Grid is used for creating full-page layouts, while Flexbox is used for creating simple layouts.

CSS Grid vs Flexbox – FAQs