Mastering CSS Grid: Displaying Cards Next to Each Other in a 3×3 Grid View with Spacing

Introduction

Are you tired of dealing with pesky float properties and margin calculations to align your cards in a grid view? Look no further! In this article, we’ll dive into the world of CSS Grid and explore how to display cards next to each other in a 3×3 grid view with spacing between them. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be a master of grid-based layouts and be able to create stunning, responsive designs with ease.

Understanding CSS Grid Basics

Before we dive into the tutorial, let’s cover some CSS Grid basics. CSS Grid is a powerful layout system that allows you to create two-dimensional grids with ease. It’s composed of:

• Grid Container: The parent element that contains the grid.
• Grid Items: The child elements that make up the grid.
• Grid Track: A horizontal or vertical line that defines the grid structure.
• Grid Cell: A single unit of the grid, created by the intersection of grid tracks.

Creating a 3×3 Grid View

Let’s start by creating a basic 3×3 grid view using CSS Grid. We’ll use a <div> element as our grid container and add nine <div> elements as our grid items.

<div class="grid-container">
  <div class="grid-item">Card 1</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 2</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 3</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 4</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 5</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 6</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 7</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 8</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 9</div>
</div>

Now, let’s add some CSS to create a 3×3 grid view:

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  grid-gap: 10px;
}

In the code above:

* We set display: grid to enable CSS Grid on the container element.
* We use grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr) to create three equally spaced columns. The repeat() function creates a pattern of three columns, and 1fr sets each column to take up an equal fractional unit of the available space.
* We add grid-gap: 10px to create a 10px gap between grid cells.

Displaying Cards Next to Each Other

Now that we have a basic 3×3 grid view, let’s style our grid items to display as cards next to each other. We’ll add some basic card styling using CSS Box Model properties.

.grid-item {
  background-color: #f7f7f7;
  padding: 20px;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-radius: 10px;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

In the code above, we add some basic styles to create a card-like appearance, including background color, padding, border, border radius, and box shadow.

Adding Spacing Between Cards

To add spacing between our cards, we can use the grid-gap property. However, this will add spacing between all grid cells, including the top and bottom rows. To add spacing only between cards, we can use the margin property on our grid items.

.grid-item {
  /* existing styles */
  margin: 10px;
}

By adding a 10px margin to each grid item, we create a 10px gap between cards, while maintaining the 3×3 grid structure.

Responsiveness and Flexibility

To make our grid view responsive, we can use CSS media queries to adjust the grid structure based on screen size. Let’s add a media query to change the grid structure to a 2×4 grid on smaller screens.

@media (max-width: 768px) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
  }
}

In the code above, we use a media query to target screen sizes with a maximum width of 768px. We then adjust the grid structure to a 2×4 grid by updating the grid-template-columns property.

Advanced Grid Styling

Let’s take our grid styling to the next level by adding some advanced features. We’ll use the grid-auto-rows property to create a consistent row height, and the grid-column property to span grid items across multiple columns.

.grid-container {
  /* existing styles */
  grid-auto-rows: 200px;
}

.grid-item:nth-child(3n+1) {
  grid-column: span 2;
}

In the code above, we set grid-auto-rows: 200px to create a consistent row height of 200px. We then use the :nth-child() pseudo-class to target every third grid item (starting from the first item) and set grid-column: span 2 to make it span across two columns.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve covered the basics of CSS Grid and how to display cards next to each other in a 3×3 grid view with spacing. We’ve also explored advanced grid styling techniques, including responsiveness and column spanning. By mastering CSS Grid, you can create complex, responsive layouts with ease and take your web design skills to the next level.

Final Code

Here’s the complete code for our 3×3 grid view with spacing between cards:

<div class="grid-container">
  <div class="grid-item">Card 1</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 2</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 3</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 4</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 5</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 6</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 7</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 8</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Card 9</div>
</div>

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  grid-gap: 10px;
}

.grid-item {
  background-color: #f7f7f7;
  padding: 20px;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-radius: 10px;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
  margin: 10px;
}

@media (max-width: 768px) {
  .grid-container {
    grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
  }
}

.grid-container {
  grid-auto-rows: 200px;
}

.grid-item:nth-child(3n+1) {
  grid-column: span 2;
}

By following this tutorial, you should now have a solid understanding of CSS Grid and how to display cards next to each other in a 3×3 grid view with spacing. Happy coding!

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