CSS Multiple Columns: Build Layouts Like a Magazine

Have you ever wondered how websites, blogs, or even online magazines achieve that newspaper-style multi-column layout?

You scroll and suddenly, text flows side by side, not top to bottom.

It’s not a trick.
It’s not JavaScript.
It’s pure CSS magic—with multi-column layout.

Let’s dive into this underused, powerful feature of CSS.

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A full-color guide with diagrams that helped me truly understand what “designing with CSS” means.

✨ What is CSS Multi-Column Layout?

The CSS multi-column layout allows content to be displayed across multiple columns—just like you’d see in a magazine or newspaper.

div {
  column-count: 3;
}

This breaks the content inside the <div> into 3 vertical columns.

🔍 Key Properties You Should Know

🧪 Real Example: 3 Column Layout

<style>
.columns {
  column-count: 3;
  column-gap: 40px;
  column-rule: 2px solid #ccc;
}
</style>

<div class="columns">
  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. 
  Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam.
  ...
</div>

This will:

• Divide the text into 3 vertical columns
• Add a 40px gap between them
• Add a subtle vertical line between columns

🧩 Column Spanning Example

Sometimes you want a heading to stretch across all columns:

h2 {
  column-span: all;
}

Use this for section headers in your multi-column layout.

📏 Set Width Instead of Count

You can suggest the width of each column instead:

.columns {
  column-width: 120px;
}

The browser will calculate how many columns can fit in the container.

💡 Pro Tips

• Combine column-width and column-count for responsive behavior.
• Avoid placing interactive elements (like forms) inside columns—they can behave unpredictably.
• Use break-inside: avoid; to prevent content from being split awkwardly.

🧠 Interview Questions

1. What does column-count do in CSS?
2. How can you set the gap between columns?
3. What is column-rule, and how is it used?
4. How do you make a heading span across multiple columns?
5. What’s the difference between column-count and column-width?
6. How do you prevent an element from breaking inside a column?

💬 Final Thoughts

Multi-column layouts aren’t just for print-inspired designs. They’re useful, readable, and elegant, especially for blog posts, portfolios, or any content-heavy website.

And the best part? It takes just a few lines of CSS.

If you’re ready to design smarter, faster, and cleaner, don’t forget to grab a copy of:

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