CSS Grid Breakout Layout: How to Ensure Menu Items Align with Content?

ZoltanKing
September 4, 2024
222 views
0 votes
2 Answers

I built a simple breakout layout using Rachel Andrew’s documentation https://rachelandrew.co.uk/archives/2017/06/01/breaking-out-with-css-grid-explained/

I would like to adjust the layout so that the menu items are centered. To be more specific, I want the first menu item to align with the content, or in other words, for the menu area to have the same width as the content area. How can I accomplish this?

The breakout area of the navigation bar (left and right) will remain empty and is intended solely for its color.

:root {
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

*,
*::before,
*::after {
  box-sizing: inherit;
}

body {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.header {
  grid-area: header;
}

.nav {
  grid-area: nav;
  background: slateblue;
}

.menu {
  padding: 0;
  display: flex;
  list-style: none;

  & li + li {
    margin-left: 1em;
  }

  & a {
    color: #fff;
  }
}

.main {
  grid-area: main;
}

.footer {
  grid-area: footer;
}

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-gap: 10px;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
  grid-template-areas:
    "header"
    "nav"
    "main"
    "footer";
}

@media (min-width: 52em) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: minmax(1em, 1fr) minmax(300px, 800px) minmax(1em, 1fr);
    /* justify-content: center; */
  }

  .grid-container > * {
    grid-column: 2;
  }

  .grid-container > .full {
    grid-column: 1/-1;
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  <title>Layout</title>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="grid-container">
    <header class="header">
      Header
    </header>
    <nav class="nav full">
      <ul class="menu">
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
    <main class="main">
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Aliquid deleniti velit odit, quasi culpa inventore ratione asperiores repellat adipisci enim, maxime iusto optio labore incidunt non natus delectus, soluta exercitationem!</p>
    </main>
    <footer class="footer">
      Footer
    </footer>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

The method I found is to add a container inside the nav, like so:

 <nav class="nav full">
  <div class="nav-container">
     <ul class="menu">
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
     </ul>
  </div>
 </nav>

And do:

.nav-container {
  max-width: 800px;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

but this seems to be a dirty hack.

Tags: css

Answers

I see no better solution than your suggested one. The container must be defined with 800px and max-width to make it responsive, like so:

:root {
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

*,
*::before,
*::after {
  box-sizing: inherit;
}

body {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.header {
  grid-area: header;
}

.nav {
  grid-area: nav;
  background: slateblue;
}

.menu {
  padding: 0;
  display: flex;
  list-style: none;

  & li + li {
    margin-left: 1em;
  }

  & a {
    color: #fff;
  }
}

.main {
  grid-area: main;
}

.footer {
  grid-area: footer;
}

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-gap: 10px;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
  grid-template-areas:
    "header"
    "nav"
    "main"
    "footer";
}

@media (min-width: 52em) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: minmax(1em, 1fr) minmax(300px, 800px) minmax(1em, 1fr);
    /* justify-content: center; */
  }

  .grid-container > * {
    grid-column: 2;
  }

  .grid-container > .full {
    grid-column: 1/-1;
  }
}
/*new code from here*/
.menu{
    max-width: 800px;
    margin: 0 auto
}
/*I see no other solution. The container must be defined with 800px and max-width to make it responsive*/

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  <title>Layout</title>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="grid-container">
    <header class="header">
      Header
    </header>
    <nav class="nav full">
      <ul class="menu">
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
    <main class="main">
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Aliquid deleniti velit odit, quasi culpa inventore ratione asperiores repellat adipisci enim, maxime iusto optio labore incidunt non natus delectus, soluta exercitationem!</p>
    </main>
    <footer class="footer">
      Footer
    </footer>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

Here’s the really dirty solution:

:root {
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

*,
*::before,
*::after {
  box-sizing: inherit;
}

body {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.header {
  grid-area: header;
}

.nav {
  grid-area: nav;
  background: slateblue;
}

.menu {
  padding: 0;
  display: flex;
  list-style: none;
  & li+li {
    margin-left: 1em;
  }
  & a {
    color: #fff;
  }
}

.main {
  grid-area: main;
}

.footer {
  grid-area: footer;
}

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-gap: 10px;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
  grid-template-areas: "header" "nav" "main" "footer";
}

@media (min-width: 52em) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: minmax(1em, 1fr) minmax(300px, 800px) minmax(1em, 1fr);
    /* justify-content: center; */
  }
  .grid-container>* {
    grid-column: 2;
  }
  .grid-container>.full {
    grid-column: 1/-1;
  }
}


/*new code from here*/

.menu {
  margin-left: -470px; /* the dirtier solution */
  justify-content: center;
}

@media (max-width: 800px) {
  .menu {
    margin-left: initial;
    justify-content: left;
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  <title>Layout</title>
</head>

<body>
  <div class="grid-container">
    <header class="header">
      Header
    </header>
    <nav class="nav full">
      <ul class="menu">
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
    <main class="main">
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Aliquid deleniti velit odit, quasi culpa inventore ratione asperiores repellat adipisci enim, maxime iusto optio labore incidunt non natus delectus, soluta exercitationem!</p>
    </main>
    <footer class="footer">
      Footer
    </footer>
  </div>
</body>

</html>

One of great things about this breakout technique is that you can nest grid-containers. In this case, you want the inside of the .full nav to have the same grid tracks as the parent grid container. All you need to do is add the grid-container class to <nav>:

<nav class="nav full grid-container">

If it’s helpful, Kevin Powell also has a nice, detailed explanation. of this breakout technique.

:root {
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

*,
*::before,
*::after {
  box-sizing: inherit;
}

body {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.header {
  grid-area: header;
}

.nav {
  grid-area: nav;
  background: slateblue;
}

.menu {
  padding: 0;
  display: flex;
  list-style: none;

  & li + li {
    margin-left: 1em;
  }

  & a {
    color: #fff;
  }
}

.main {
  grid-area: main;
}

.footer {
  grid-area: footer;
}

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-gap: 10px;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
  grid-template-areas:
    "header"
    "nav"
    "main"
    "footer";
}

@media (min-width: 52em) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: minmax(1em, 1fr) minmax(300px, 800px) minmax(1em, 1fr);
    /* justify-content: center; */
  }

  .grid-container > * {
    grid-column: 2;
  }

  .grid-container > .full {
    grid-column: 1/-1;
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  <title>Layout</title>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="grid-container">
    <header class="header">
      Header
    </header>
    <nav class="nav full grid-container">
      <ul class="menu">
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Menu Item</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
    <main class="main">
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Aliquid deleniti velit odit, quasi culpa inventore ratione asperiores repellat adipisci enim, maxime iusto optio labore incidunt non natus delectus, soluta exercitationem!</p>
    </main>
    <footer class="footer">
      Footer
    </footer>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

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