Hey, developer! Welcome to this quick solution. In CSS, we find various units for sizing elements on a webpage, such as viewport height (VH) and percentage (%). But if you want to become a master of CSS and give perfect height to any element, it is important to know the difference between these two. In this solution, we will tell you what the difference is between them and also tell you when it is better to use these two units.
Let's dive in!
VH unit:
In CSS, the viewport height (VH) unit stands for the height of your browser window, not counting scrollbars or other interface parts. It's great for ensuring elements on your webpage adjust well to various screen sizes. One VH unit = 1% of your window's height, no matter how big or small your webpage is. It's a great unit to make your designs look good on all devices.
Percentage Unit:
In CSS, when we use the percentage (%) unit, it's like saying, "Take a portion of the space available in the parent element". This unit is relative to the element's parent. For example, if a parent container is 500px height and we set a child element's height to 100%, it means the child will also be 500px height.
- height: 100% = 100% of the parent element's height.
- height: 100vh = 100% of the browser window height.
<head>
<style>
.parent {
height: 500px;
width: 500px;
background-color: lightgreen;
}
.child-percent {
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
background-color: lightblue;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="parent">
<div class="child-percent"></div>
</div>
</body>
In this example, the child element's size matches its parent's size, which is 500px, because it's set to 100% of the parent's size. Since the parent element has a height and width of 500px, the child element also takes up 500px.
However, if we change the child element's height and width to 100vh, it will fill the entire viewport height and width, regardless of the parent element's size. This is because the vh unit refers to the viewport height, so it ignores the parent element's dimensions.
The Difference Between VH and Percentage Unit
- VH units reference the browser's viewport height, while percentage units are relative to the parent container's dimensions.
- VH units are best for fully responsive layouts based on viewport height, ensuring consistent sizing regardless of screen size.
- Percentage units adapt to changes in the parent container's size, making them versatile for flexible layouts.
- VH units maintain size relative to the viewport, while percentage units scale dynamically with changes to the parent element's dimensions.
When to Use Each:
Use VH units when you want elements to always be a certain size about the viewport, like making full-screen sections or backgrounds.
Use percentage units when you want elements to change size based on their parent containers, like making fluid grid layouts or responsive components inside containers of different sizes.
Last Thought
We are sure you have understood the difference between these two units very well. Just keep in mind that VH gives fixed sizes based on the viewport, while percentage units change according to the size of the parent container.
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