CSS

Layout – The position

Property

The position property specifies the type of
positioning method used for an element (static, relative, fixed, absolute or
sticky).

The position Property

The position property specifies the type of positioning method used for an element.

There are five different position values:

• static
• relative
• fixed
• absolute
• sticky

Elements are then positioned using the top, bottom, left, and right
properties. However, these properties will not work unless the position
property is set first. They also work differently depending on the position
value.

position: static;

HTML elements are positioned static by default.

Static positioned elements are not affected by the top, bottom, left, and right properties.

An element with position: static; is not positioned in any special way; it is
always positioned according to the normal flow of the page:

This <div> element has position: static;

Here is the CSS that is used:

Example

div.static {
  position: static;
  border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}

Try it Yourself »

position: relative;

An element with position: relative; is positioned relative to its normal position.

Setting the top, right, bottom, and left properties of a relatively-positioned element will cause
it to be adjusted away from its normal position. Other content will not be adjusted to fit into any gap left by the
element.

This <div> element has position: relative;

Here is the CSS that is used:

Example

div.relative {
  position: relative;
 
left: 30px;
  border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}

Try it Yourself »

position: fixed;

An element with position: fixed; is positioned relative to the viewport, which means it always
stays in the same place even if the page is scrolled. The top,
right, bottom, and left properties are used to position the element.

A fixed element does not leave a gap in the page where it would normally have been located.

Notice the fixed element in the lower-right corner of the page. Here is the CSS that is used:

Example

div.fixed {
  position: fixed;
 
bottom: 0;
  right: 0;
  width:
300px;
  border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}

Try it Yourself »

This <div> element has position: fixed;

position: absolute;

An element with position: absolute; is positioned relative to the nearest positioned ancestor
(instead of positioned relative to the viewport, like fixed).

However; if an absolute positioned element has no positioned ancestors,
it uses the document body, and moves along with page scrolling.

Note: Absolute positioned elements are removed from the normal flow, and can overlap elements.

Here is a simple example:

This <div> element has position: absolute;

This

element has position: relative;

Here is the CSS that is used:

Example

div.relative {
  position: relative;
 
width: 400px;
  height: 200px;
  border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}

div.absolute {
  position: absolute;
 
top: 80px;
  right: 0;
  width: 200px;
  height: 100px;
  border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}

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position: sticky;

An element with position: sticky; is positioned based on the user’s scroll position.

A sticky element toggles between relative and fixed, depending on the scroll position. It is positioned relative until a given offset position is met in the viewport – then it “sticks” in place (like position:fixed).

Note: Internet Explorer does not support sticky positioning. Safari requires a -webkit-
prefix (see example below). You must also specify at least one of top, right, bottom or left for
sticky positioning to work.

In this example, the sticky element sticks to the top of the page (top: 0), when you reach its scroll position.

Example

div.sticky {
  position: -webkit-sticky; /* Safari */
  position:
sticky;
  top: 0;
  background-color: green;
 
border: 2px solid #4CAF50;
}

Try it Yourself »

Positioning Text In an Image

How to position text over an image:

More Examples

Set the shape of an element
This example demonstrates how to set the shape of an element. The element is clipped into this shape, and displayed.

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:

Position the <h1> element to always be 50px from the top,
and 10px from the right, relative to the window/frame edges.

<style>
h1 {
  : ;
  : 50px;
  : 10px;
}
</style>

<body>
  <h1>This is a heading</h1>
  <p>This is a paragraph</p>
  <p>This is a paragraph</p>
</body>

Start the Exercise

All CSS Positioning Properties

Property
Description

bottom
Sets the bottom margin edge for a positioned box

clip
Clips an absolutely positioned element

left
Sets the left margin edge for a positioned box

position
Specifies the type of positioning for an element

right
Sets the right margin edge for a positioned box

top
Sets the top margin edge for a positioned box