cssgridgenerator
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CSS Sticky Footer Layout Generator

A footer that sits at the bottom of the viewport on short pages and below the content on long ones.

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1040px

Drag across the grid to draw an area. Arrow keys nudge, Shift + arrows resize.

space to pan · ⌘scroll to zoom
1minmax(0, 1fr)2300px3
1auto21fr3auto4
header1 / 1 / 2 / 3
main2 / 1 / 3 / 2
footer3 / 1 / 4 / 3
aside2 / 2 / 3 / 3

Reading orderAt Desktop, aside is the first thing seen but footer is the first thing focused. Placement has moved the layout out of document order, so keyboard and screen reader users get a different sequence from everyone else.

Seenheader → main → aside → footer

Focusedheader → main → footer → aside

Usually the fix is in the markup, not in CSS: reorder the children so the HTML reads the way the page does, then place them back where you want them. Reaching for order or row-reverse instead moves the picture without moving the focus, which is the bug rather than the cure.

It is not always wrong. A full-height sidebar beside a topbar diverges by construction, and the accepted answer there is a skip link to the main content rather than a reordered document. WCAG 2.2 SC 1.3.2 asks that the sequence be meaningful — not that it be identical.

Named areas. The CSS is a picture of the layout, and only the properties that actually change get repeated inside each media query.

.page {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
  grid-template-rows: auto 1fr auto;
  gap: 16px;
  grid-template-areas:
    "header"
    "main"
    "footer";
}

.page > .header { grid-area: header; }
.page > .main { grid-area: main; }
.page > .footer { grid-area: footer; }
.page > .aside { display: none; }

@media (min-width: 860px) {
  .page {
    grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1fr) 300px;
    gap: 24px;
    grid-template-areas:
      "header header"
      "main   aside"
      "footer footer";
  }

    .page > .aside { grid-area: aside; }
}

How this layout works

The trick is one row, not the footer. Give the page min-height: 100dvh and make the content row 1fr: on a short page that row stretches and pushes the footer down, on a long page it is simply the content height and the footer follows normally.

Use 100dvh rather than 100vh. On mobile browsers vh is measured against the tallest viewport, so a 100vh page is taller than the visible area while the address bar is showing and the footer hides just off-screen.

This is not position: fixed. A fixed footer overlaps content and eats the bottom of long pages; this one is in flow and only *looks* pinned when there is not enough content to fill the screen.

Every property used here is listed in the CSS Grid cheat sheet, with the reason to reach for it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I keep the footer at the bottom without position: fixed?
Give the page container min-height: 100dvh and make the content row 1fr. On a short page that row stretches and pushes the footer down; on a long page it is just the content height. The footer stays in flow, so it never overlaps anything.
Why use 100dvh instead of 100vh?
On mobile browsers 100vh is measured against the viewport with the address bar hidden, so a 100vh page is taller than what you can actually see and the footer sits just off-screen. dvh tracks the visible viewport as the bar shows and hides.
How do I center a grid in CSS?
Use justify-content: center on the grid container to centre the whole grid inside it, and margin-inline: auto with a max-width to centre the container in the page. These are different jobs: the first moves the tracks within the container, the second moves the container itself.
How do I center items inside a CSS grid?
Set place-items: center on the container. That is shorthand for align-items plus justify-items, and it centres every item inside its own cell on both axes. For a single item, use place-self: center on that item instead.
How do I make a CSS grid responsive?
Use grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(260px, 1fr)) and it reflows at every width with no media queries at all. Add breakpoints only when the exact column count matters, or when the layout has to change shape rather than just wrap.
When should I use CSS Grid instead of Flexbox?
Use Grid when things must line up in two directions at once, and Flexbox when content flows along one axis. A page skeleton or dashboard is Grid; a navbar or row of buttons is Flexbox. They nest: Grid for the page, Flexbox inside the cells.

How to use it

  1. Open the pattern

    The sticky footer layout loads into the editor already responsive, with every breakpoint set up.

  2. Change the tracks

    Edit the column and row sizes in the Tracks panel. Anything valid in a track list works.

  3. Redraw at another width

    Move the ruler past a breakpoint marker and rearrange. Only the placement changes.

  4. Copy the code

    Take CSS, HTML, Tailwind or a shadcn component. The media queries are already written.

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