Bootstrap - Grid system

This chapter will discuss about Bootstrap grid system. In Bootstrap, Grid system allows up to 12 columns across the page and is built with flexbox

Basic example

  • Bootstrap's grid system is a responsive layout tool that uses containers, rows, and columns to align content.

  • Use a .container class for a responsive fixed width container.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html lang="en">
    <head>
      <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
      <meta charset="UTF-8">
      <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
      <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
      <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
      <div class="container text-center">
        <div class="row mt-2">
          <div class="col p-2 bg-primary">
            First Column
          </div>
          <div class="col p-2 bg-warning">
            Second Column
          </div>
          <div class="col p-2 bg-info">
            Third Column
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </body>
    </html>

How it works

  • Bootstrap grid supports six responsive breakpoints. Breakpoints affect all sizes above it (such as sm, md, lg, xl, xxl), allowing you to control container and column sizing and behavior at each breakpoint.

  • Containers center and horizontally pad your content. Use .container for responsive pixel width or .container-fluid for full width across all viewport and device sizes. For various breakpoints the responsive container classes are used.

  • Rows are wrappers for columns. Each column contains horizontal padding. This padding is then applied to rows with negative margins. In this manner, all the content in the columns, is left-aligned.

  • Rows supports modification classes for uniform column sizing column sizing and gutter classes for changing the spacing of your text.

  • Columns are incredibly flexible. You can create various elements combination with any number of columns using one of the 12 template columns available per row.

  • Column widths are set in percentages for fluid and relative sizing to parent element.

  • Gutters are responsive and customizable. They are available for all the viewports and are of same size as margin and padding. You can modify gutters by using the .gx-* (for horizontal gutters), .gy-* (for vertical gutters), .g-* (for all gutters) and .g-0 to remove gutters.

  • To create more semantic markup, you can use predefined grid's source Sass mixins.

There are six classes in Bootstrap Grid System:

  • Extra small (.col-xs)

  • Small (.col-sm-)

  • Medium (.col-md-)

  • Large (.col-lg-)

  • Extra large (.col-xl-)

  • Extra extra large (.col-xxl-)

How the grid varies over these breakpoints is shown in the below table:

Extra small
<576px		 Small
≥576px		 Medium
≥768px		 Large
≥992px		 X-Large
≥1200px		 XX-Large
≥1400px
Container max-width

None (auto) 540px 720px 960px 1140px 1320px
Class prefix .col- .col-sm- .col-md- .col-lg- .col-xl- .col-xxl-
# of columns 12 - - - - -
Gutter width 1.5rem (.75rem margin on both sides.) - - - - -
Custom gutters Yes - - - - -
Nestable Yes - - - - -
Column ordering Yes - - - - -

Auto-layout columns

For easy column sizing without an explicit numbered class, use breakpoint-specific column classes like .col-sm-6.

Equal-width

  • Use equal-width grid system to create the grid in equal sizes.

  • Two grid layouts work on any device size from xs to xxl. For each breakpoint, you can add many unit-less classes, and each column/row will have the same width.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html lang="en">
    <head>
      <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
      <meta charset="UTF-8">
      <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
      <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
      <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
      <div class="container text-center">
        <h5>Equal columns</h5>
        <div class="row mt-2">
          <div class="col  p-2 bg-primary">
            First Column
          </div>
          <div class="col  p-2 bg-info">
            Second Column
          </div>
        </div>
        <h5>Equal rows</h5>
        <div class="col mt-2">
          <div class="row  p-2 bg-warning text-white">
            First Row
          </div>
          <div class="row  p-2 bg-secondary text-white">
            Second Row
          </div>
          <div class="row  p-2 bg-success text-white">
            Third Row
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </body>
    </html>

Setting one column width

  • You can choose one column width and other columns automatically resize around it.

  • Use grid classes, mixins, or inline widths. You can resize the other columns no matter the width of the center column.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html lang="en">
    <head>
      <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
      <meta charset="UTF-8">
      <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
      <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
      <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
      <div class="container text-center">
        <div class="row mt-2">
          <div class="col-6  p-2 bg-primary text-white">
            First Column (col-6)
          </div>
          <div class="col-3  p-2 bg-secondary text-white">
           Second Column (col-3)
          </div>
          <div class="col p-2 bg-warning text-white">
            Third Column (col)
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </body>
    </html>

Variable width content

Use col-{breakpoint}-auto classes to size columns according to the content's natural width.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html lang="en">
    <head>
      <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
      <meta charset="UTF-8">
      <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
      <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
      <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
      <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
      <div class="container text-center">
        <div class="row justify-content-md-center mt-2">
          <div class="col col-lg-2  p-2 bg-primary ">
           First Column
          </div>
          <div class="col-md-auto  p-2 bg-info ">
            Second column with variable width content.
          </div>
          <div class="col col-lg-2  p-2 bg-warning">
           Third Column
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </body>
    </html>

Responsive classes

In Bootstrap, grid has six tiers of predefined classes which is used to create complex responsive layouts. You can customize the columns/row to small, medium, large, or extra-large devices.

All breakpoints

Use the .col and .col-* classes for grids that are consistent across all sizes of devices. If you require a column of a specific size then use a numbered class.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <h5>Columns</h5>
      <div class="row mt-2">
        <div class="col p-2 bg-primary">First Column</div>
        <div class="col p-2 bg-warning">Second Column</div>
        <div class="col p-2 bg-light">Third Column</div>
      </div>
      <h5>Rows</h5>
      <div class="col mt-2">
        <div class="row-9 p-2 bg-info">First Row</div>
        <div class="row-3 p-2 bg-success">Second Row</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Stacked to horizontal

Use .col-sm-* classes to build a simple grid system that is stacked on extra small and small devices and becomes horizontal on larger devices.

Note: Resize the browser to check the effect on various devices.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <h5>Columns</h5>
      <div class="row mt-2">
        <div class="col-sm-6 p-2 bg-primary text-white">First Column</div>
        <div class="col-sm-3 p-2 bg-success text-white">Second Column</div>
        <div class="col-sm-2 p-2 bg-dark text-white">Third Column</div>
      </div>
      <h5>Rows</h5>
      <div class="col mt-2">
        <div class="row-sm p-2 bg-info">First row</div>
        <div class="row-sm p-2 bg-warning">Second row</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Mix and match

Use a combination of various classes for each tier to easily stack the columns in some grid tiers according to your needs.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <div class="row mt-2">
        <div class="col-sm-4 p-2 bg-primary text-white">First column of col-sm-4</div>
        <div class="col-3  p-2 bg-secondary text-white">Second column of col-3</div>
      </div>
      <div class="row mt-2">
        <div class="col-4 col-md-2 p-2 bg-warning text-white">First column of col-4 col-md-2</div>
        <div class="col-4 col-md-2 p-2 bg-secondary text-white">Second column of col-4 col-md-2</div>
        <div class="col-4 col-md-2 p-2 bg-info text-white">Third column of col-4 col-md-2</div>
      </div>
      <div class="row mt-2">
        <div class="col-sm-3 p-2 bg-dark text-white">First column of col-sm-3</div>
        <div class="col-md-6 p-2 bg-success text-white">Second column of col-md-6</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Row columns

  • Bootstrap grid provides row column classes to create simple grid layouts.

  • Individual rows are included in .row* class.

  • Individual columns are included in .col* class.

  • Use .row-cols-* class to set the number of columns in a single row.

  • Use .row-cols-auto to adjust the column's size based on its content.

Create two different columns using .row-cols-2 class.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <div class="row row-cols-2">
        <div class="col bg-info p-2">First Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-primary p-2">First Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-warning p-2">Second Row First Column</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Create three different columns using .row-cols-3 class.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html> 
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container  text-center mt-2">
      <div class="row row-cols-3 mt-2">
        <div class="col bg-info p-2">First Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-light p-2">First Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-primary p-2">First Row Third Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-secondary p-2">Second Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-success p-2">Second Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-warning p-2">Second Row Third Column</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Create grids of rows and columns using row-cols-auto class.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <div class="row row-cols-auto">
        <div class="col bg-primary p-2">First Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-secondary p-2">First Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-warning p-2">First Row Third Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-info p-2">First Row Fourth Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-success p-2">First Row Fifth Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-light p-2">First Row sixth Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-danger p-2">Second Row First Column</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Create four different columns using row-cols-4 class.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <div class="row row-cols-4">
        <div class="col bg-primary p-2">First Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-secondary p-2">First Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-warning p-2">First Row Third Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-info p-2">First Row Fourth Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-light p-2">Second Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-danger p-2">Second Row Second Column</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Using row-cols-1, row-cols-sm-3 and row-cols-md-6 classes.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <div class="row row-cols-1 row-cols-sm-3 row-cols-md-6 mt-2">
        <div class="col bg-primary p-2">First Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-light p-2">First Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-warning p-2">First Row Third Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-info p-2">First Row Fourth Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-danger p-2">First Row Fifth Column</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Using the row-cols() Sass mixin.

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
    <style>
      .custom_grid{
        @media row-cols(2);
        @media media-breakpoint-up(lg) {
          @media row-cols(6);
        }
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container custom_grid text-center">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col bg-primary p-2">First Row First Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-light p-2">First Row Second Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-warning p-2">First Row Third Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-info p-2">First Row Fourth Column</div>
        <div class="col bg-danger p-2">First Row Fifth Column</div>   
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>

Nesting

A nesting grid system adds rows and columns of the grid in single cell of an existing grid. The nested rows should consist of a group of columns whose total does not exceed 12 (it is not necessary to utilize all 12 columns).

Example

You can edit and try running this code using Edit & Run option.

  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap - Grid</title>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0-alpha3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container text-center">
      <div class="row mt-2">
        <div class="col-sm bg-primary p-2">
          First Column
        </div>
        <div class="col-sm bg-info p-2">
          <div class="container">
            <div class="row">
              <div class="col col-sm bg-light">
                Second Column
              </div>
              <div class="col col-sm bg-light">
                Second Column 
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
        <div class="col-sm bg-primary p-2">
          Third Column
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
  </html>
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