How to create multi-column layouts with the CSS columns property?
Jun 26, 2025 am 12:27 AMThe method of creating a multi-column layout using the columns attribute of CSS is as follows: 1. Use abbreviation attributes or separate settings to specify the number and width of columns and column-width, and the browser will automatically adjust according to the container; 2. Use column-gap to set the column spacing, and add dividers to column-rule; 3. Use break-inside to prevent elements from being split, and column-span to achieve cross-column effect. This attribute is suitable for newspaper-style layout of text content, but is not suitable for complex structural layouts. Pay attention to the adaptation issues under different screen sizes.
It is actually quite simple to create a multi-column layout using the columns
attribute of CSS, and it is suitable for some scenarios where text is typed into newspaper style. It's not as complicated as Grid or Flexbox, but it's also functional.
Basic usage: Set the number and width of columns
The most direct way is to specify the number of columns ( column-count
) and column width ( column-width
) through columns
abbreviation property. for example:
.multi-column { columns: 3 200px; }
This means "up to three columns are displayed, each column is approximately 200px wide". The browser will automatically adjust according to the container width, which may be less than three columns, or more, but not less than the set width.
You can also write separately:
.multi-column { column-count: 3; column-width: 200px; }
Note: These two attributes are "advisory" and are not mandatory. The final effect is automatically adjusted by the browser according to the space.
Control spacing and separation lines
There is no gap between multiple columns by default, but you can set the column spacing through column-gap
:
.multi-column { column-gap: 30px; }
If you want to add a divider, you can use column-rule
, which is similar to the border writing method:
.multi-column { column-rule: 1px solid #ccc; }
This line will not affect the layout size, but will only serve as a visual separation.
Handle cross-column elements and line breaking issues
Some elements (such as titles or images) you do not want to be broken into different columns, and can be controlled using break-inside
:
.no-break { break-inside: avoid; }
This way the browser will try to keep this element displayed in the same column.
Also, sometimes you want to control which column starts or disconnects the content, you can try column-span
, but the support is currently limited. For example:
.full-width { column-span: all; }
You can make an element span all columns, similar to the effect of a full-width banner.
Basically that's it. It is not difficult to implement multi-column layout with columns
, but be careful that it is more suitable for text content and is not very suitable for complex structural layouts. Remember to test the performance under different screen sizes when actually using it, because the number of columns will change with the container.
The above is the detailed content of How to create multi-column layouts with the CSS columns property?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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