CSS Layout is all about boxes. We know that some boxes are blocks, and others are inline, and we can change the display type of elements by changing the value of the display property. That property holds the key to much more than this, however. It is the foundation on which all layout is built; the core of the inbuilt CSS layout system. Learning Grid Layout, or Flexbox, without understanding Display, leaves you with a wobbly foundation and more questions than answers.
The real question isn’t “Should I use Grid or Flexbox?” but instead, “How do I want these boxes to behave?” Understanding the interaction between layout methods will enable you to easily create fallbacks for older browsers, and be able to make more informed decisions when deciding how to build any part of your design, big or small.
Rachel Andrew is a front and back-end web developer, author and speaker. Author or co-author of 22 books including The New CSS Layout and a regular contributor to a number of publications both on and offline.
Rachel is a Member of the CSS Working Group, and currently works on MDN, documenting the web on behalf of Mozilla and Google. She writes about business and technology on her own site at rachelandrew.co.uk
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