CSS Media Queries (Menus, Columns and more)

CSS Media Queries - More Examples

Let us look at some more examples of using media queries.

Media queries are a popular technique for delivering different style sheets to different devices. In a simple example, we can change the background color for different devices:

Example

/* Set the background color of body to tan */
body {
background-color: tan;
}

/* On screens that are 992px or less, set the background color to blue */
@media screen and (max-width: 992px) {
body {
background-color: blue;
}
}

/* On screens that are 600px or less, set the background color to olive */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
body {
background-color: olive;
}
}

Do you wonder why we use exactly 992px and 600px? They are what we call "typical breakpoints" for devices.

Media Queries For Menus

In this example, we use media queries to create a responsive navigation menu, that varies in design on different screen sizes.

Large screens:

HomeLink 1Link 2Link 3

Small screens:

HomeLink 1Link 2Link 3

Example

/* The navbar container */
.topnav {
overflow: hidden;
background-color: #333;
}

/* Navbar links */
.topnav a {
float: left;
display: block;
color: white;
text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
}

/* On screens that are 600px wide or less, make the menu links stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav a {
float: none;
width: 100%;
}
}

Media Queries For Columns

A common use of media queries, is to create a flexible layout. In this example, we create a layout that varies between four, two and full-width columns, depending on different screen sizes:

Large screens:

Medium screens:

Small screens:

Example

/* Create four equal columns that floats next to each other */
.column {
float: left;
width: 25%;
}

/* On screens that are 992px wide or less, go from four columns to two columns */
@media screen and (max-width: 992px) {
.column {
width: 50%;
}
}

/* On screens that are 600px wide or less, make the columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.column {
width: 100%;
}
}

Tip: A more modern way of creating column layouts, is to use CSS Flexbox (see example below). However, it is not supported in Internet Explorer 10 and earlier versions. If you require IE6-10 support, use floats (as shown above).

Example

/* Container for flexboxes */
.row {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
}

/* Create four equal columns */
.column {
flex: 25%;
padding: 20px;
}

/* On screens that are 992px wide or less, go from four columns to two columns */
@media screen and (max-width: 992px) {
.column {
flex: 50%;
}
}

/* On screens that are 600px wide or less, make the columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.row {
flex-direction: column;
}
}

Hide Elements With Media Queries

Another common use of media queries, is to hide elements on different screen sizes:

I will be hidden on small screens.

Example

/* If the screen size is 600px wide or less, hide the element */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
div.example {
display: none;
}
}

Change Font Size With Media Queries

You can also use media queries to change the font size of an element on different screen sizes:

Variable Font Size.

Example

/* If screen size is more than 600px wide, set the font-size of <div> to 50px */
@media screen and (min-width: 600px) {
div.example {
font-size: 50px;
}
}

/* If screen size is 600px wide, or less, set the font-size of <div> to 20px */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
div.example {
font-size: 20px;
}
}

Orientation: Portrait / Landscape

Media queries can also be used to change layout of a page depending on the orientation of the browser.

You can have a set of CSS properties that will only apply when the browser window is wider than its height, a so called "Landscape" orientation:

Example

Use a lightblue background color if the orientation is in landscape mode:

@media only screen and (orientation: landscape) {
body {
background-color: lightblue;
}
}

Min Width to Max Width

You can also use the (max-width: ..) and (min-width: ..) values to set a minimum width and a maximum width.

For example, when the browser's width is between 600 and 900px, change the appearance of a <div> element:

Example

@media screen and (max-width: 900px) and (min-width: 600px) {
div.example {
font-size: 50px;
padding: 50px;
border: 8px solid black;
background: blue;
}
}

Using an additional value: In the example below, we add an additional media query to our already existing one using a comma (this will behave like an OR operator):

The comma "," will act like an OR operator in CSS.

Example

/* When the width is between 600px and 900px OR above 1100px - change the appearance of <div> */
@media screen and (max-width: 900px) and (min-width: 600px), (min-width: 1100px) {
div.example {
font-size: 50px;
padding: 50px;
border: 8px solid black;
background: blue;
}
}