Adjusting iframes for responsive design using only CSS

It's common for websites to have embedded Youtube videos, and with Youtube now compatible on phones too. With the rise of responsive design, it only makes sense for iframes containing Youtube videos to also be responsive, right?

After spending days searching for a solution (as a newcomer to HTML/CSS), I couldn't find an easy answer to the problem. While adjusting iframe width is straightforward, maintaining relative height involved complex scripts in javascript, jQuery, and php - all intimidating for beginners in web design. What I needed was a simple way to keep an iframe's height proportional no matter how its width changed.

To ensure this question doesn't go unanswered, here's a method that worked:

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/example_url" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

That's all there is to it.

If anyone has alternative solutions, I'd love to hear them as well.

htmlcssiframeresponsive-design

Answer №1

The answer involved utilizing nested divs, which may seem like a hacky solution but it provides an easy fix to a problem with multiple solutions. For instance, in the case of maintaining a 16:9 aspect ratio for Youtube videos. Your HTML structure should resemble this:

<div id="outer">
    <div id="inner">
        <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/example_url" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

Additionally, your stylesheet would include the following:

#outer {
max-width: 640px;
max-height: 360px;
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
}

#inner {
    height: 0px;
    padding-bottom: 56.25%;
}

#inner iframe {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
}

The outer div sets limitations on maximum height and width while allowing scalability, and the inner div adjusts its height using the padding attribute based on the width of the containing div. The formula used is (height*100/width)%, representing the height-to-width ratio. The iframe then expands to fit the entire containing div. Adding text underneath shouldn't be an issue due to whitespace filling gaps on the web.

I can't recall the exact source where I came across this technique. It was initially applied with images on another platform, possibly Stack Overflow, but adapting it for iframes, particularly for embedded Youtube videos, seemed relevant and useful.

For a demonstration, you can check out this JSFiddle link showcasing the implementation.

Answer №2

The CSS property aspect-ratio has revolutionized the way we handle responsive design, eliminating the need for complex workarounds or additional scripts.

video {
    aspect-ratio: 16 / 9;
    height: auto;
    width: 100%;
}

This feature is widely supported by modern browsers, making it a reliable choice for most websites. Check out browser compatibility here: https://caniuse.com/mdn-css_properties_aspect-ratio

See a live demo here: Working Example

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