Achieving BEFORE and CONTENT Alignment in CSS Without Flexbox

Learn how to position a `before` element on the left and its corresponding content on the right using CSS without utilizing flexbox.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/66298287/ asked by the user 'Kreuzkoenig' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/15251416/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/66298366/ provided by the user 'Mi-Creativity' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2081719/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Mastering CSS: Aligning BEFORE and CONTENT in a Div

When designing web layouts, you may encounter scenarios where you need to position certain elements relative to one another in a specific way. An interesting challenge arises when you're tasked with placing a before pseudo-element on the left side of a div while keeping the main content aligned to the right. For instance, you may want to have a layout that looks something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In this guide, we will tackle this challenge and provide an effective solution without resorting to flexbox or creating additional divs.

Understanding the Problem

The desire is to have a clear, organized structure where the before content (e.g., "BEFORE") sits neatly aligned to the left, while the main content remains aligned to the right. The main issue arises when the lengths of the texts vary; the default behavior in CSS will attempt to move the before pseudo-element closer to the content. This isn't the desired outcome, as we want these elements to always stick to their respective sides of the div.

The CSS Solution

To achieve this layout effectively, we can leverage CSS positioning capabilities. Here’s how to implement this solution step-by-step.

1. Set Up Your HTML Structure

You will need a container div that holds your boxes, and within each box, your main content can reside. Below is a simple example of how your HTML should look:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

2. Define Your CSS Styles

Here are the CSS styles we will be using, organized by their purpose:

Container Styles

This is the outer container that holds all the boxes:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Box Styles

The styles applied to each box include both the before content for positioning and the right-aligned main content:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

3. Putting It All Together

Once you have the HTML and CSS in place, your final implementation should allow the before text to remain on the left while the main content is aligned to the right, regardless of how long the content may be.

Conclusion

By applying position: absolute to the before pseudo-element while keeping the box as position: relative, we can effectively solve the alignment issue without the need for complex structures like flexbox. This simple yet powerful technique provides a clean and professional layout for your web content.

Now that you know how to master this alignment, feel free to experiment with your styles and see what creative designs you can come up with!

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