CSS Position Fixed vs Sticky: Understanding the Difference

When you’re designing a website, making sure things look and act just right is super important. With CSS, you have a bunch of tools to help you position elements just how you want them.

Two of these tools are position: fixed and position: sticky. While they might seem similar at first glance, they serve different purposes and have distinct behaviors.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the differences between position: fixed and position: sticky, and when to use each.

Position: Fixed

When you use position: fixed, you’re telling an element to stay in one spot on the screen no matter what. It doesn’t move, even if you scroll up or down the page.

This is handy for things like headers or sidebars that you want to be always visible.

Here’s a basic example of how position: fixed is applied:

<div class="example"> 
    <div class="box fixed">This is fixed</div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
</div>

.content {
    background-color: #2C7865;
    height: 200px;
    margin: 1rem;
}


.box {
    width: 300px;
    height: 100px;
    background-color: #FF9800;
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
    font-size: 2rem;
    color: #ffffff;
}

.fixed {
    position: fixed;
    top: 24px;
    left: 24px;
}

Output:

See the Pen Position: Fixed (Example) by Sunil Pradhan (@Sunil_Pradhan) on CodePen.

Position: Sticky

With position: sticky, it’s a bit special.

It’s kind of like a mix of position: relative and position: fixed. The element stays where it normally would be until you scroll past it. Then, when you reach a certain point on the page, it sticks to the screen.

This is really useful for things like headers or menus that you want to stay at the top of the page when you scroll down.

Here’s a basic example of how position: Sticky is applied:

<div class="example">
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="box sticky">This is sticky</div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
    <div class="content"></div>
</div>

.content {
    background-color: #2C7865;
    height: 200px;
    margin: 1rem;
}


.box {
    width: 300px;
    height: 100px;
    background-color: #FF9800;
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
    font-size: 2rem;
}

.sticky {
    position: sticky;
    margin: 24px;
    top: 24px;
}

See the Pen Position: Sticky (Example) by Sunil Pradhan (@Sunil_Pradhan) on CodePen.

Key Differences ( Fixed vs Sticky)

Here’s a simpler breakdown:

Position: Fixed: Think of it like sticking something on your computer screen with glue. It stays in one place even when you scroll up or down. You get to choose exactly where it stays on the screen.

Position: Sticky: Imagine you’re sticking a note to your computer screen, but you only want it to stick once you’ve scrolled a bit. Before that, it moves up and down like everything else on the page.

Also, it sticks within its container. So, if the container scrolls off the screen, it goes with it.

When to Use Each ( Fixed vs Sticky)

Use position: fixed when you want something to stay still on your website, no matter what. But be careful, it might cover up other stuff.

Use position: sticky when you want something to move with the page until it hits a certain spot, then it stops. Just remember, when its parent scrolls off page, it gone with its parent.

Conclusion

So, in summary, position: fixed and position: sticky might seem similar, but they’re actually quite different.

Knowing when to use each can really help you make your website look and work better. If you want something to stay in one spot all the time, use position: fixed. But if you want something to move with the page until it hits a certain point, then stop, use position: sticky.

Understanding these differences will make your website design much better!

Have fun! 🎉🎉