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joy.does.artworks

Posted on • Originally published at freecodecamp.org

Learn CSS Media Queries by Building Three Projects

#css #tutorial #webdev #beginners

Today we're gonna learn how to use CSS Media queries to build responsive websites & practice by doing 3 projects. Let's go 🏅

Table of Contents -->

Topics to discuss at a glance :

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You can watch this tutorial on YouTube as well if you like:

Original Post at Free Code Camp

What are CSS Media Queries?

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CSS Media Queries allows us to create Responsive website across all screen sizes ranging from desktop to mobile screen. Therefore, It's a must to learn this topic.

Here's a demo of the magic of Media Queries 👇

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We'll build that on project 2. Layout is called Card Layout. More Layout Examples here!

How to Set Up the Project

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For this project, you need to know little bit of HTML, CSS and know how to work with VS code. Follow along with me ->

  1. Create a folder named "Project-1"
  2. Open VS Code
  3. Create index.html, style.scss & main.js file
  4. install Live Server & SASS Compiler
  5. Run Live Server & SASS Compiler

HTML

On HTML, Write this code inside the body tag 👇

 <div class = "container"></div>
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we also need to see the exact size of our window. Here's a demo of what I mean 👇

Demo

So, write this line below inside the html file, ->

  <div id="size"></div>
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SCSS

We'll Use SCSS, not CSS. But..... what is SCSS?

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SCSS is a pre-processor of CSS which is more powerful than regular CSS. Using SCSS we can ->

  1. Nest our selectors like a branch of a tree and better manage our code.
  2. Store various values into variables
  3. Use Mixins to stop code repetition & save time

And Much more !

On SCSS, we'll remove our default browser settings, change box-sizing, font-size & font-family, like this 👇

*{
  margin : 0px;
  padding : 0px;
  box-sizing : border-box; 

  body{
    font-size : 35px;
    font-family : sans-serif;
  }
}
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Don't forget to set height of the .container class. Otherwise we'll fail to achieve our desired results ->

.container{
  height : 100vh;
}
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Remember the additional id we wrote in HTML ? We'll style it & position it on our browser here ->

#size {
  position: absolute;

// positioning screen size below our main text
  top : 60%;
  left: 50%;

  transform: translateX(-50%);

  color : red;
  font-size : 35px;
}
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JavaScript

We need to update our screen size inside our id every time we resize our window. So, write these codes in main.js file ->


// 'screen' is name 👇 of a function
window.onresize = screen;
window.onload = screen;

// Function named 'screen' 👇

function screen() {
  Width = window.innerWidth;
  document.getElementById("size").innerHTML 
   = "Width : " + Width + " px" 
}
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Download the images for the project

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Responsive website also means Responsive Images. We're also going to make images responsive in this project. The images are on my GitHub repository. Here's how to get them:

  1. Visit and copy the link above ☝️
  2. Go to downgit and paste the link you copied
  3. Follow the steps in this video 👇

Down Git Steps to follow

And.... we're all set ! Let's Start Coding 😊

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The Syntax

The syntax of a Media Query

@media screen and (max-width: 768px){
  .container{
   //Your code's here
  }
}
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An illustrated Explanation ->

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Let's divide the syntax into 4 section :-

  1. Media Query Declaration
  2. The Media Type
  3. min-width & max-width Function
  4. The Code itself

To understand all 4 section of the syntax, let's start our First Project

Project-1 Video

We'll Build this ☝️ A small project where background-color changes on resizing the window by taking 1 small step at a time. Let's start !

HTML

place some text inside our HTML, like this ->

<div class = "container">

   <div class = "text">
      Hello Screen !
   </div>

</div>
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SCSS

Now, we'll store 4 color codes inside variables like this 👇

$color-1 : #cdb4db ; // Mobile
$color-2 : #fff1e6 ; // Tablet
$color-3 : #52b788 ; // Laptop
$color-4 : #bee1e6 ; // Desktop
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More colors at coolors.co

Now, come at the bottom, target the .container & .text classes. We'll also center our text like this👇

.container{
//To place text at center

  display : grid;
  place-items : center;

  background-color : $color-1;
  height : 100vh;
}

.text{
 // keep it blank for now
}
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So far so good !

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1. Media query declaration Rule

Media Queries start with the @media declaration. Main purpose of writing this is to tell the Browser that we have specified a media query. On CSS, write like this 👇

@media
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2. The Media Type

This is used to specify the nature of the device we're working with. The 4 values are ->

  • all
  • print
  • screen
  • speech

Purpose of every 4 value at a glance 👇

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We declare the media type after @media declaration. Like this 👇

@media screen
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FAQ : Why do we write The "and" operator?

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Let's say, we're placing an order at a restaurant, "A burger and a pizza". Notice that the 2 orders are separated by a [and]

Likewise, media type, min-width & max-width functions are basically conditions we are giving to the browser. We don't write "and" operator if we have 1 condition. Like this ->

@media screen {
  .container{
     // Your code here 
  }
}
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We write "and" operator if we have 2 conditions. Like this ->

@media screen and (max-width : 768px) {
  .container{
     // Your code here 
  }
}
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You can also skip the media type and work with just min-width & max-width. Like this ->

//Targeting screen sizes between 480px & 768px 

@media (min-width : 480px) and (max-width : 768px) {
  .container{
     // Your code here 
  }
}
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If you have 3 conditions or more, you can use a comma, like this ->

//Targeting screen sizes between 480px & 768px 

@media screen, (min-width : 480px) and (max-width : 768px) {
  .container{
     // Your code here 
  }
}
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3. min-width & max-width Function

Let's discuss the Most important component of a media query, Screen breakpoints.

To be honest, there's no such thing as a standard screen break-point guide due to countless screen sizes on the market. But, for our project, we'll follow The Official Bootstrap 5 screen break-point values

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Here's a list of every device screen resolution on CSS-Tricks.

max-width :

Using this function, we are creating a boundary. This will work as long as we are inside the boundary. Here's a sample 👇

Our Boundary is 500px

max-width

notice how the light purple color gets Disabled when we hit above 500px.

To recreate this, write these on SCSS

.container{
  background-color: white ;
  height: 100vh;
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
}
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At the bottom, insert the media query, like this 👇

@media screen and (max-width : 500px){
  .container{
    background-color: $color-1;
  }
}
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min-width :

we are also creating a boundary here. But, This will work if we go outside the boundary. Here's a sample 👇

Our Boundary is 500px

Min-width

Notice how the light purple color gets Enabled after we hit above 500px width.

To recreate this, write these on SCSS

.container{
  background-color: white ;
  height: 100vh;
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
}
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At the bottom, insert the media query, like this 👇

@media screen and (min-width : 500px){
  .container{
    background-color: $color-1;
  }
}
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To sum it up, remember that

  • max-width sets styles inside the set boundary

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  • min-width sets styles outside the set boundary

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The code itself :

Let's put our project-1 together !

We will have 4 screen breakpoints

  • Mobile -> 576px
  • Tablet -> 768px
  • Laptop -> 992px
  • Desktop -> 1200px

Yes, we are following the official bootstrap 5 screen breakpoints. And each breakpoints will get these colors ->

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For 4 device types, we will have 4 Media Queries. Before touching the 4 media queries, first, store the breakpoint values in variables. Like this 👇

Note : Don't forget to put the $ sign

$mobile  : 576px;
$tablet  : 768px;
$laptop  : 992px; 
$desktop : 1200px;
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And our .container class should look like this 👇

.container{
  background-color: white ;
  height: 100vh;
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
}
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We're all 50% done ! Now let's setup the 4 media queries 👇

But Wait...

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You need to follow a serial while writing the media queries. Start writing from the largest display to the smallest display.

Desktop - 1200px

For the Desktop screen, write these on SCSS 👇

// using variable here which is  👇 1200px
@media screen and (max-width: $desktop){
  .container{
    background-color: $color-4;
  }
}
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The Result ->

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Laptop - 992px

For the Laptop screen, write these on SCSS 👇

// using variable here which is  👇 992px
@media screen and (max-width: $laptop){
  .container{
    background-color: $color-3;
  }
}
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The Result ->

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Tablet - 768px

For the tablet screen, write these on SCSS 👇

// using variable here which is  👇 768px
@media screen and (max-width: $tablet){
  .container{
    background-color: $color-2;
  }
}
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The Result ->

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Mobile - 576px

For the mobile screen, write these on SCSS 👇

// using variable here which is  👇 576px
@media screen and (max-width : $mobile){
  .container{
    background-color: $color-1;
  }
}
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The Result ->

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Take a Break

Congratulations for Completing Project 1 but, first, take a break. You deserve it !

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Let's do some projects using CSS Media Queries

Project-2 Responsive Portfolio

We'll build this, A small responsive Website👇

Desktop View

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Mobile View

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Okay then, Let's start Coding ! First, let's work with the Desktop View by taking small baby steps

Before Starting

Create a folder named 'images' inside our 'Project-1' Folder. Place all the images you downloaded from my GitHub Repository inside the 'images' folder.

HTML

Step - 1

We'll create 3 sections for our website. Write these Codes inside HTML

<div class="container"> 

    <div class="header"></div>

    <div class="main"></div>

    <div class="footer"></div>

</div>
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Step - 2

We'll place the logo & menu items inside the .header div

<div class="header">

      <div class="header__logo">Miya Ruma</div>

      <div class="header__menu">
          <div class="header__menu-1"> Home </div>
          <div class="header__menu-2"> Portfolio </div>
          <div class="header__menu-3"> Contacts </div>
      </div>

  </div>
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Step - 3

We'll place the image & text inside the .main div

<div class="main">

     <div class="main__image"></div>

     <div class="main__text">

       <div class="main__text-1">Hello 👋</div>

       <div class="main__text-2">I'm <span>Miya Ruma</span></div>

       <div class="main__text-3">A Designer From</div>

       <div class="main__text-4">Tokyo, Japan</div>

     </div>

</div>
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Step - 4

We'll place the social media icons inside the .footer div

<div class="footer">

   <div class="footer__instagram">
      <img src="./images/instagram.png" alt="">
   </div>

   <div class="footer__twitter">
      <img src="./images/twitter-sign.png" alt="">
   </div>

    <div class="footer__dribbble">
       <img src="./images/dribbble-logo.png" alt="">
    </div>

    <div class="footer__behance">
       <img src="./images/behance.png" alt="">
    </div>

</div>
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SCSS

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Step-1

Delete everything inside our SCSS & write these ->

* {
  // placing Margin to left & right
  margin: 0px 5px;

  padding: 0px;
  box-sizing: border-box;

  body {
    font-family: sans-serif;
  }
}
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The result so far ->

Alt Text

Step-2

Select All the classes we created in HTML on our stylesheet.

.container{}

.header{}

.main{}

.footer{}
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Step-3

Now select all the children of the parent classes.

.header{

  &__logo{}

  &__menu{}
}

.main{

  &__image{}

  &__text{}
}

.footer{

  [class ^="footer__"]{}

}
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Note : &__logo nested inside .header is shortcut of .header__logo

Step-4

Define the .container for desktop layout

.container{

// Defining height
  height: 100vh;

  display: flex;

  flex-direction: column;
}
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Apply display: flex; to .header & to the menu items so that it behaves like a row, not column

.header{
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;

  &__logo{}

  &__menu{
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: row;
  }
}
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Divide each section & create borders to see what we are doing

.header{
  display: flex;

// The border & height
  border: 2px solid red;
  height: 10%;

// Other selectors are here

}

.main{

//The border & height
  border: 2px solid black;
  height: 80%;

// Other selectors are here

}

.footer{

// Border & height
  border: 2px solid green;
  height: 10%;

// Other selectors are here
}
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The Result ->

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Step-5

Let's complete styling our .header section using flex-box properties & appropriate font-size

.header {
// height
  height: 10%;

  display: flex;
// Aligning logo & menu at center
  align-items: center;

// space between logo & menu
  justify-content: space-between;

  &__logo {
    font-size: 4vw;
  }

  &__menu {
    display: flex;
    font-size: 2.5vw;

// to put gap between menu items
    gap: 15px;
  }
}
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The result ->

Alt Text

Step-6

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Let's add the image inside .main section & create a partition for image & text.

.main {
  // image & text will act like a row
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;

  //The border & height
  border: 2px solid black;
  height: 80%;

  &__image {
    //Adding the image
    background-image: url("./images/Portrait.png");
    // will cover half of screen width
    width: 50%;
  }

  &__text {
    // will cover half of screen width
    width: 50%;
  }
}
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The ugly result so far, but don't lose hope !

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Step-7 - The image

Style the image to be responsive ->

.main{
  &__image{
  //make image fluid
    background-size: contain;

  // stop image repetition
    background-repeat: no-repeat;

  // position the image
    background-position: left center;
  }
}
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The result so far ->

Alt Text

The image is responsive from 4k till your smart watch screen. Don't believe me? Open chrome developer tools & test it yourself and see.

4k test

Step-8 - The text

Let's style our text now. Bring it to the exact center

.main{

  &__text {
    // will cover half of screen width
    width: 50%;
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;

// To bring it at the center 
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
  }

// To color The name 
  span{
    color: red;
  }

}
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.main{


  &__text{

// To add gaps between texts vertically
    gap: 15px;

// font size for "hello"
    &-1{
      font-size: 10vw;
    }

// font size for other texts
    &-2,&-3,&-4{
      font-size: 5vw;

    }

  }
}
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The result ->

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  • Upto this point, you can remove all the borders we placed inside our header, main & footer classes

Step-9 : The footer Section

First, resize the images like this ->

.footer{
  [class^="footer__"] {
    img {
      width: 5.3vw;
    }
  }
}
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Then, position the images to our desired place, with some gap between the icons ->

.footer{
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;

// To align icons along x-axis
  align-items: center;
// placing image to the right side
  justify-content: flex-end;
// Gap between icons
  gap: 20px;

// margin to right side of icons 
  margin-right: 10%;
}
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The result, without the guides ->

Alt Text

Step-10 : The mobile Layout

Almost there !

Alt Text

Create a media query at 650px mark & style the .header class like this ->

@media (max-width: 650px) {

  .header {

// To place logo at center
    justify-content: center;

    &__logo {
      font-size: 40px;
    }
//hiding the menu on mobile device
    &__menu {
      display: none;
    }
  }
}
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Step-11

Now, place the .main section at the exact center ->

@media (max-width: 650px){
// styles of header section of step-10...

// main section here 
  .main {
    flex-direction: column;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
}
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step-12 :

Style the image & text for mobile layout. Like this ->

@media (max-width: 650px){

 .main {
   &__image {
// Image size 
      height: 200px;
      width: 200px;
      background-size: 100%;

// To have rounded image 
      border-radius: 100%;
      background-position: center;
    }

// Styles for the text ->
    &__text {
      width: 100%;

      &-1 {
        display: none;
      }
      &-2, &-3, &-4 {
        font-size: 30px;
      }
    }
}
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Step-13

The last step, Let's style the footer section for the mobile layout ->

@media (max-width: 650px){
  .footer {
// placing icons along the X-axis
    justify-content: center;
    margin: 0px;

    [class^="footer__"] {

// Resizing images for mobile layout
      img {
        width: 45px;
        height: 45px;
      }
    }
  }
}
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The result ->

Alt Text

Take a break

Good job so far ! Take a break😊

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Project-3 The Card Layout

In Project 3, We'll build this ->

Alt Text

Let's start !

SCSS

On your stylesheet, delete everything, but don't delete the styles of #size. And write these ->

* {
  margin: 0px;
  padding: 0px 10px;
  box-sizing: border-box;

  body {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    font-size: 55px;
  }
}

#size{
  position: absolute;
// Positioning the text
  top: 60%;
  left: 50%;
  transform: translateX(-50%);
// color & size of text
  color: red;
  font-size: 40px;
}
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HTML

You're HTML should look like this inside the body tags 👇

<div class="container"> 
   // We'll place code here
</div>

// This will show our window width Live 
<div id="size"></div>
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Now, create 3 classes with class names .row-* like this 👇 inside .container

<div class="container"> 

   <div class="row-1">
   </div>

   <div class="row-2">
   </div>

   <div class="row-3">
   </div>
</div>
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Each row will have 3 boxes with class names .box-* like this 👇
And yes, Insert Letters inside the boxes

<div class="container"> 

   <div class="row-1">
       <div class="box-1">A</div>
       <div class="box-2">B</div>
       <div class="box-3">C</div>
   </div>

   <div class="row-2">
       <div class="box-4">D</div>
       <div class="box-5">E</div>
       <div class="box-6">F</div>
   </div>

   <div class="row-3">
       <div class="box-7">G</div>
       <div class="box-8">H</div>
       <div class="box-9">I</div>
   </div>
</div>
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We're done with the HTML part and the result should look like this 👇

Alt Text

SCSS

Follow these small baby steps one by one 👇

Step-1

To select & style all the boxes & rows together, we do these on CSS 👇

.container{
  // styles here 
}

[class ^="row-"]{
  // Styles applied on all rows
}

[class ^="box-"]{
  // Styles applied on all boxes
}
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Step-2

Boxes should behave like a row. Write these ->

[class ^="row-"]{
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;
}
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The result 👇

Alt Text

Step-3

Expand the boxes across the width & height & place the letters at the center. Follow me ->

[class ^="box-"]{

  background-color: #c4c4c4;
  border: 2px solid black;

// Defining the size of the boxes 
  width : (100%)/3;
  height: (100vh)/3;

// Place letter at the center
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
}
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The Result ->

Alt Text

Step-4

create gap among the rows. Follow me ->

.container{
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100vh;

// Creating gap between rows 
  gap: 30px;
}
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Now to create gap between Boxes ->

[class ^="row-"]{
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;

// Creating gap between boxes
  gap : 30px;
}
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The Result ->

Alt Text

Step-5 -> The mobile Layout

Create Media query which will be applied at 650px mark

@media (max-width: 650px){
  // We'll write code here
}
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Change orientation of the boxes on the mobile screen from row to column, and stretch the boxes to 100% of the width ->

@media (max-width: 650px){

//Change orientation
  [class ^="row-"]{
    flex-direction: column;
  }

// Change width of boxes
  [class ^="box-"]{
    width: 100%;
  }
}
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The Final Result ->

Alt Text

By the way, Project 2 is a part of this article of mine. If you're interested to learn & practice both about flexbox & media query, then go for it !

Conclusion

Here's Your Medal For reading till the end ❤️

Suggestions & Criticisms Are Highly Appreciated ❤️

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Credits

Top comments (3)

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jpchreim profile image
Jean Pierre Chreim •

Great Job man, I definetly needed it !

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afif profile image
Temani Afif •

better contact the support to get back your old account. If you own the email of the other account you can recover it easily (I guess ..)

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artworks_joy profile image
joy.does.artworks •

Let's hope for the best :")

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