Using floats solely for element positioning, not layout construction, is essential. Many users face issues with understanding this concept.
The fundamental principle of CSS floats is that the floated element exits the regular flow. Consequently, when an element is floated, the line-height at its position becomes zero. To illustrate this point, consider the following example:
.box {
position: relative;
border: 2px solid red;
clear:both;
margin-bottom: 40px;
}
.floated {
float:left;
}
.box > div {
border: 1px solid blue;
}
<div class="box">
<div class="floated">Floated div</div>
</div>
<div class="box">
<div>Not Floated div</div>
</div>
In the provided example, the red border represents the line height. It is evident that the content within .floated extends beyond the boundaries of the container .box, rendering the box seemingly empty without any visible content due to its zero height. Moreover, the use of .box is necessary to prevent conflicts.
Let's examine another instance. Floats are commonly used for creating grids, although I personally discourage this technique. Here is a typical procedure involving floats:
.grid {
position: relative;
width: 400px;
}
.grid.floated .element {
float: left;
width: 32%;
border: 1px solid blue;
}
.grid.inline-block {
font-size: 0;
}
.grid.inline-block .element {
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
font-size: 1rem;
width: 32%;
border: 1px solid blue;
}
.clear {
clear: both;
}
<h1>Floated grid</h1>
<div class="grid floated">
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element with different height and content</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
<h1>Inline block grid</h1>
<div class="grid inline-block">
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element with different height and content</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
<div class="element">Element</div>
</div>
The problem arises with floated grids when elements vary in height, leading to stacking issues. Clearing floats post usage is imperative.
An alternative approach is the inline-block grid which sidesteps the complications encountered with floated grids. This method ensures correct line heights, maintains proper element order within the document flow, and eliminates the need for clearing floats.
Common Issues Associated with Floats
Initiating a layout using floats necessitates floating subsequent elements or consistent clearing. Additionally, floated elements transition into block elements, altering their original inline nature. An illustration would be converting a <span> (inline element) into a block element akin to a <div> within the layer stack (consisting of floats, absolute positioning, opacities, etc.), thus presenting challenges if one fails to grasp float behavior accurately.
Conclusions and Recommendations
While floats serve as effective tools for positioning individual elements like images alongside text, they have become somewhat obsolete amidst the availability of modern layout techniques such as flexbox and inline-block elements. Consequently, it is advisable to explore alternative methods (e.g., positions, displays, flexbox, inline-block elements) for constructing layouts instead of relying heavily on floats, reserving their use primarily for positioning singular elements.
Best of luck!