How to Position Two Elements Closely in a Flexbox Navigation Bar

Discover how to effectively position elements in a flexbox navigation bar without using margins or positioning properties. Follow our step-by-step guide for a clear solution!
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This video is based on the question stackoverflow.com/q/72191566/ asked by the user 'shemjay' ( stackoverflow.com/u/13911746/ ) and on the answer stackoverflow.com/a/72191698/ provided by the user 'Shubham Mistry' ( stackoverflow.com/u/17831273/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Position Two Elements Closely in a Flexbox Navigation Bar: A Simple Guide

Creating a responsive and visually appealing navigation bar using Flexbox can sometimes be tricky, particularly when trying to position elements together without relying on margins or positioning properties. If you've faced this challenge, you’re not alone!

The Problem

You might have a navigation bar that includes three main elements:

A logo

A list of navigation items

A div containing two buttons

The goal is to have the logo and navigation items on the left side of the navbar while keeping the buttons on the right. However, tools like justify-content: space-between might not give you the desired effect, as it tends to distribute space evenly between the items.

This means instead of having your logo and list items grouped on one side, they could end up spaced out across your navbar.

The Solution

To achieve the desired layout, you can wrap the logo and the list of items in a single <div> and apply flex properties to it. Here’s how to do it, step-by-step:

1. Structure Your HTML

Start by wrapping the logo and the unordered list (<ul>) of items in a div. This groups them together, making it easier to position them as a unit.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

2. Style with CSS

In your CSS, apply a flex display to the navbar itself and to the new <div> containing the logo and list items:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

3. Reset Default Styles

Ensure to reset any default margin and padding that could interfere with your layout:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Result

With these modifications, your navbar will now display the logo and navigation items neatly on the left side, and the buttons will sit proudly on the right. This approach is clean and efficient, avoiding unnecessary margins or positioning tricks.

Conclusion

Flexbox provides a powerful toolset for creating responsive layouts, making it an excellent choice for navigation bars. By simply wrapping your elements and applying display properties, you can achieve a well-structured navbar that looks good and functions well across different devices.

Now that you have a clear solution, happy coding!