Building a Responsive Web Site From Scratch
In this chapter we will build a W3.CSS responsive website from scratch.
First, start with a simple HTML page, with an initial viewport and a link to W3.CSS.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<title>W3.CSS Case</title>
<meta name="viewport"
content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<link rel="stylesheet"
href="http://www.w3ii.com/lib/w3.css">
<body>
<h1>My first W3.CSS website!</h1>
<p>This site
will grow as we add more ...</p>
<p>This is another
paragraph.</p>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
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Put Elements in Containers
Now we need to add a common margin and padding to all elements.
To achieve this, put your HTML elements inside containers (<div class="w3-container">)
To make it possible define separate classes for headers. Separate the header from the rest of the content, using a separate <div> element:
Example
<div class="w3-container">
<h1>My
First W3.CSS Website!</h1>
<p>This site
will grow as we add more ...</p>
</div>
<div
class="w3-container">
<p>This is another
paragraph.</p>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</div>
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Color Classes
Color classes defines the color of elements.
This example adds a color to the first <div> element:
Example
<div class="w3-container w3-light-grey">
<h1>My
First W3.CSS Website!</h1>
<p>This site
will grow as we add more ...</p>
</div>
<div
class="w3-container">
<p>This is another
paragraph.</p>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</div>
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Size Classes
Size classes defines the text size for elements.
This example adds a size to both header elements:
Example
<div class="w3-container w3-light-grey">
<h1
class="w3-jumbo">My
First W3.CSS Website!</h1>
<p
class="w3-xxlarge">This sage
will grow as we add more ...</p>
</div>
<div
class="w3-container">
<p>This is another
paragraph.</p>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</div>
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Use Semantic Elements
If you like to follow the HTML5 semantic recommendations. please do!
It does not matter for W3.CSS if you use <div> or <header>.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<title>W3.CSS Case</title>
<meta name="viewport"
content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<link rel="stylesheet"
href="http://www.w3ii.com/lib/w3.css">
<body>
<header class="w3-container
w3-light-grey">
<h1 class="w3-jumbo">My first W3.CSS website!</h1>
<p
class="w3-xxlarge">This site
will grow as we add more ...</p>
</header>
<div
class="w3-container">
<p>This is another
paragraph.</p>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</div>
<footer
class="w3-container">
<p>This is my footer</p>
</footer>
</body>
</html>
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Multicolumn Responsive Layout
With W3.CSS it is easy to create a multicolumn responsive layout.
The columns will rearrange themselves automatically when viewed on different screen sizes.
Some grid rules:
- Start with a row class <div class="w3-row-padding">
- Use predefined classes like "w3-third" to quickly make grid columns
- Place your text content inside the grid columns
This example shows how to create three columns of equal width:
Example
<div class="w3-row-padding">
<div class="w3-third">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div class="w3-third">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div class="w3-third">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
</div>
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This example shows how to create four columns of equal width:
Example
<div class="w3-row-padding">
<div class="w3-quarter">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div class="w3-quarter">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div class="w3-quarter">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div
class="w3-quarter">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
</div>
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Columns With Different Widths
This example creates a three-column layout where the column in the middle is wider than the first and last column:
Example
<div class="w3-row-padding">
<div class="w3-quarter">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div class="w3-half">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
<div class="w3-quarter">
<p>Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</p>
</div>
</div>
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Navigation Bars
A navigation bar is a navigation header that is placed at the top of the page.
Example
<nav class="w3-topnav w3-green">
<a href="#">Home</a>
<a
href="#">Link 1</a>
<a
href="#">Link 2</a>
<a href="#">Link 3</a>
<a href="#">Link 4</a>
</nav>
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Side Navigation
With side navigation, you have several options:
- Always display the navigation pane to the left of the page content.
- Open the navigation pane, hiding the left part of the page content.
- Open the navigation pane, hiding all of the page content.
- Shift the page content to the right, when opening the navigation pane.
This example opens the navigation pane, hiding a part of the page content:
<nav class="w3-sidenav w3-black w3-card-2" style="display:none">
<a href="#">Link 1</a>
<a href="#">Link 2</a>
<a
href="#">Link 3</a>
<a href="#">Link 4</a>
<a
href="#">Link 5</a>
</nav>
JavaScript used to open and hide the menu:
function w3_open() {
document.getElementsByClassName("w3-sidenav")[0].style.display = "block";
}
function w3_close() {
document.getElementsByClassName("w3-sidenav")[0].style.display = "none";
}
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