CSS Layout – float and clear

The CSS float property specifies how an element should float.

The CSS clear property specifies what elements can float beside the cleared element and on which side.

The float Property

The float property is used for positioning and formatting content e.g. let an image float left to the text in a container.

The float property can have one of the following values:

left – The element floats to the left of its container
right – The element floats to the right of its container
none – The element does not float (will be displayed just where it occurs in the text). This is default
inherit – The element inherits the float value of its parent

In its simplest use, the float property can be used to wrap text around images.

Example – float: right;

The following example specifies that an image should float to the right in a text:

Pineapple Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus imperdiet, nulla et dictum interdum, nisi lorem egestas odio, vitae scelerisque enim ligula venenatis dolor. Maecenas nisl est, ultrices nec congue eget, auctor vitae massa. Fusce luctus vestibulum augue ut aliquet. Mauris ante ligula, facilisis sed ornare eu, lobortis in odio. Praesent convallis urna a lacus interdum ut hendrerit risus congue. Nunc sagittis dictum nisi, sed ullamcorper ipsum dignissim ac…

Example

img {
float: right;
}

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Example – float: left;

The following example specifies that an image should float to the left in a text:

Example

img {
float: left;
}

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Example – No float

In the following example the image will be displayed just where it occurs in the text (float: none;):

Example

img {
float: none;
}

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Example – Float Next To Each Other

Normally div elements will be displayed on top of each other. However, if we use float: left we can let elements float next to each other:

Example

div {
float: left;
padding: 15px;
}

.div1 {
background: red;
}

.div2 {
background: yellow;
}

.div3 {
background: green;
}

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CSS Layout – clear and clearfix

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The clear Property

When we use the float property, and we want the next element below (not on right or left), we will have to use the clear property.

The clear property specifies what should happen with the element that is next to a floating element.

The clear property can have one of the following values:

none – The element is not pushed below left or right floated elements. This is default
left – The element is pushed below left floated elements
right – The element is pushed below right floated elements
both – The element is pushed below both left and right floated elements
inherit – The element inherits the clear value from its parent

When clearing floats, you should match the clear to the float: If an element is floated to the left, then you should clear to the left. Your floated element will continue to float, but the cleared element will appear below it on the web page.

Example

This example clears the float to the left. Here, it means that the <div2> element is pushed below the left floated <div1> element:

div1 {
float: left;
}

div2 {
clear: left;
}

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The clearfix Hack

If a floated element is taller than the containing element, it will “overflow” outside of its container. We can then add a clearfix hack to solve this problem:

Without Clearfix

With Clearfix

Example

.clearfix {
overflow: auto;
}

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The overflow: auto clearfix works well as long as you are able to keep control of your margins and padding (else you might see scrollbars). The new, modern clearfix hack however, is safer to use, and the following code is used for most webpages:

Example

.clearfix::after {
  content: “”;
  clear: both;
  display: table;
}

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You will learn more about the ::after pseudo-element in a later chapter.

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CSS Layout – Float Examples

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This page contains common float examples.

Grid of Boxes / Equal Width Boxes

Box 1

Box 2

Box 1

Box 2

Box 3

With the float property, it is easy to float boxes of content side by side:

Example

* {
box-sizing: border-box;
}

.box {
float: left;
width: 33.33%; /* three boxes (use 25% for four, and 50% for two, etc) */
padding: 50px; /* if you want space between the images */
}

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What is box-sizing?

You can easily create three floating boxes side by side. However, when you add something that enlarges the width of each box (e.g. padding or borders), the box will break. The box-sizing property allows us to include the padding and border in the box’s total width (and height), making sure that the padding stays inside of the box and that it does not break.

You can read more about the box-sizing property in our CSS Box Sizing Chapter.

Images Side By Side

The grid of boxes can also be used to display images side by side:

Example

.img-container {
float: left;
width: 33.33%; /* three containers (use 25% for four, and 50% for two, etc) */
padding: 5px; /* if you want space between the images */
}

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Equal Height Boxes

In the previous example, you learned how to float boxes side by side with an equal width. However, it is not easy to create floating boxes with equal heights. A quick fix however, is to set a fixed height, like in the example below:

Box 1

Some content, some content, some content

Box 2

Some content, some content, some content

Example

.box {
height: 500px;
}

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However, this is not very flexible. It is ok if you can guarantee that the boxes will always have the same amount of content in them. But many times, the content is not the same. If you try the example above on a mobile phone, you will see that the second box’s content will be displayed outside of the box. This is where CSS3 Flexbox comes in handy – as it can automatically stretch boxes to be as long as the longest box:

Example

Using Flexbox to create flexible boxes:

Box 1 – This is some text to make sure that the content gets really tall. This is some text to make sure that the content gets really tall. This is some text to make sure that the content gets really tall.

Box 2 – My height will follow Box 1.

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Tip: You can read more about the Flexbox Layout Module in our CSS Flexbox Chapter.

Web Layout Example

It is also common to do entire web layouts using the float property:https://www.w3schools.com/css/trycss_layout_cols.htm

Example

.header, .footer {
background-color: grey;
  color: white;
padding: 15px;
}

.column {
float: left;
padding: 15px;
}

.clearfix::after {
  content: “”;
  clear: both;
display: table;
}

.menu {
width: 25%;
}

.content {
  width: 75%;
}

Try it Yourself »

More Examples

An image with border and margins that floats to the right in a paragraph
Let an image float to the right in a paragraph. Add border and margins to the image.

An image with a caption that floats to the right
Let an image with a caption float to the right.

Let the first letter of a paragraph float to the left
Let the first letter of a paragraph float to the left and style the letter.

Creating a website with float
Use float to create a homepage with a navbar, header, footer, left content and main content.

All CSS Float Properties

Property	Description
box-sizing	Defines how the width and height of an element are calculated: should they include padding and borders, or not
clear	Specifies what should happen with the element that is next to a floating element
float	Specifies whether an element should float to the left, right, or not at all
overflow	Specifies what happens if content overflows an element’s box
overflow-x	Specifies what to do with the left/right edges of the content if it overflows the element’s content area
overflow-y	Specifies what to do with the top/bottom edges of the content if it overflows the element’s content area

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CSS Layout – float and clear

The float Property

Example – float: right;

Example

Example – float: left;

Example

Example – No float

Example

Example – Float Next To Each Other

Example

CSS Layout – clear and clearfix

The clear Property

Example

The clearfix Hack

Without Clearfix

With Clearfix

Example

Example

CSS Layout – Float Examples

Grid of Boxes / Equal Width Boxes

Example

Images Side By Side

Example

Equal Height Boxes

Box 1

Box 2

Example

Example

Navigation Menu

Example

Web Layout Example

Example

More Examples

All CSS Float Properties