How to do Sticky Positioning in CSS

If you’re a website designer or developer, you’re probably familiar with the concept of positioning elements on a web page.

One of the most popular ways to position elements is by using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

In this CSS tutorial, we’re going to take a closer look at one of the more advanced positioning techniques: sticky positioning.


What is Sticky Positioning?

Sticky positioning is a type of positioning that allows an element to “stick” to a certain spot on the screen, even when the user scrolls.

This can be useful for creating fixed headers, sidebars, or other elements that you want to remain visible as the user scrolls through the page.

How to Use Sticky Positioning

Using sticky positioning in CSS is actually quite simple.

First, you’ll need to add the position: sticky; property to the element that you want to make sticky.

Then, you’ll need to specify the top, bottom, left, or right position of the element, depending on where you want it to stick.

For example, if you want to create a sticky header that stays at the top of the screen, you would use the following CSS:

header {
position: sticky;
top: 0;
}

This will make the header element sticky, and it will always be positioned at the top of the screen.

Browser Support

It’s important to note that sticky positioning is not supported by all browsers. As of 2021, it is supported by all modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. However, Internet Explorer does not support sticky positioning.

If you need to support older browsers, you can use JavaScript or a JavaScript library like jQuery to create a sticky element.

Examples of Sticky Positioning

Sticky positioning can be used for a variety of different elements on a web page.

Some common examples include:

  • Fixed headers: A fixed header is a type of navigation bar that stays at the top of the screen as the user scrolls. This makes it easy for users to access the navigation links and search bar.
  • Sidebars: A sidebar is a column of content that is typically located on the left or right side of the main content. By making it sticky, users can easily access the sidebar links while they’re scrolling through the main content.
  • Call-to-action (CTA) buttons: A CTA button is a button that encourages users to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. By making the CTA button sticky, you can make sure that it’s always visible and easy for users to find.

Conclusion

Sticky positioning is a powerful CSS technique that can be used to create fixed headers, sidebars, and other elements that stay in place as the user scrolls.

It’s easy to use, and it’s supported by all modern browsers.

However, it’s not supported by Internet Explorer, so you may need to use JavaScript or a JavaScript library like jQuery to create a sticky element for older browsers.

With this tutorial, you can easily implement sticky positioning on your website and make your website more user-friendly.