Creating Sticky Elements with CSS

Tutorial 4 of 5

Creating Sticky Elements with CSS Tutorial

1. Introduction

Goal

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to create sticky elements using CSS. "Sticky" elements are those that remain in the same position on the page as the user scrolls, which is often used for headers and navigation bars.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Understand what sticky positioning in CSS is
- Use the position: sticky property in CSS
- Implement a sticky header or navigation bar on a webpage

Prerequisites

Basic understanding of HTML and CSS is required. Familiarity with CSS positioning would be beneficial but is not necessary.

2. Step-by-Step Guide

In CSS, the position property specifies the type of positioning method used for an element. The sticky value is a hybrid of relative and fixed positioning. The element is treated as relative positioned until it crosses a specified point, after which it is treated as fixed.

Concept & Examples

Let's say we have a header that we want to stick to the top of the viewport when scrolling:

<header>
  I'm a sticky header!
</header>

header {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  background-color: grey;
  color: white;
  padding: 10px;
}

The top: 0 property means that the sticky element will stick to the top of the viewport when scrolling.

3. Code Examples

Example 1: Sticky Header

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
body {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}
.header {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  background-color: #333;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 10px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="header">
  <h2>Sticky Header</h2>
</div>
<p>... (your content)</p>
</body>
</html>

In this example, the header will stay at the top of the page even when you scroll down.

Example 2: Sticky Sidebar

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
body {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}
.sidebar {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  background-color: #333;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 10px;
  width: 200px;
  height: 100vh;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="sidebar">
  <h2>Sticky Sidebar</h2>
</div>
<p>... (your content)</p>
</body>
</html>

In this example, the sidebar will stay at the top of the page even when you scroll down.

4. Summary

We've learned how to create sticky elements using the position: sticky property in CSS. We used two examples, a sticky header and a sticky sidebar, to illustrate its usage.

To further your learning, you can try to create other sticky elements such as a sticky footer or a sticky navigation bar.

5. Practice Exercises

Create a sticky footer that stays at the bottom of the viewport when scrolling.
Create a navigation bar that becomes sticky only after you have scrolled a certain amount of pixels.
Create a webpage with both a sticky header and a sticky footer.

Remember, practice makes perfect. Keep experimenting with different values and properties. Happy coding!