20 CSS position property Interview Questions and Answers

The CSS position property is used to specify the position of an element on a web page. It is one of the most commonly used properties in CSS, and as such, is often a topic of interview questions. If you are interviewing for a position that involves CSS, it is important to be prepared to answer questions about the position property. In this article, we will review some of the most common questions about the position property and provide tips on how to answer them.

CSS position property Interview Questions and Answers

Here are 20 commonly asked CSS position property interview questions and answers to prepare you for your interview:

1. What is the difference between absolute, relative and fixed positioning?

The three different types of positioning are absolute, relative, and fixed. Absolute positioning is when an element is positioned in relation to the top and left of the page. Relative positioning is when an element is positioned in relation to where it would normally be on the page. Fixed positioning is when an element is positioned in relation to the browser window, and it will not move even if the window is scrolled.

2. How do you center an element in CSS? What are the different ways to accomplish this task?

There are a few different ways to center an element in CSS. The most common way is to set the element’s left and right margins to ‘auto’. This will cause the element to be centered horizontally. You can also center an element vertically by setting the top and bottom margins to ‘auto’. Another way to center an element is to set the ‘left’ and ‘right’ properties to ‘0’ and then to set the ‘margin-left’ and ‘margin-right’ properties to ‘auto’. This will center the element horizontally. Finally, you can use the ‘transform’ property to center an element both horizontally and vertically.

3. Can you explain what a “float” is?

A float is a CSS property that allows an element to be positioned to the left or right of its containing element, and will cause other elements to wrap around it.

4. What happens if we don’t close a float with a clearfix class? Why does it happen?

If you don’t close a float with a clearfix class, then the float will continue to extend outward, potentially causing the page to become distorted. This happens because the floated element is taken out of the normal flow of the document, and the clearfix class helps to reset that flow.

5. Can you explain how z-index works?

The z-index property determines the stacking order of elements that have a position value other than static. Elements with a higher z-index are always stacked on top of elements with a lower z-index.

6. Is there any limit on z-index values? If yes, then what’s the highest value that can be used for z-index?

There is no limit on z-index values. However, browsers tend to have different interpretations of what the highest z-index value is. For example, Internet Explorer used to have a limit of 2147483647, but that has since been removed.

7. When would you use position: sticky; instead of position: fixed; ?

Position: sticky; is used when you want an element to remain fixed in place until it reaches a certain point, at which point it will become fixed to that point and scroll with the rest of the document. Position: fixed; is used when you want an element to always be fixed in place, regardless of where it is in the document.

8. What are some examples of using inline-block elements in practice?

Inline-block elements are often used for things like buttons, social media icons, and other small items that need to be displayed inline with other content, but still be treated as a separate block-level element. This allows them to be easily styled with CSS, while still being able to be placed inline with other content on the page.

9. Can you explain what floats are?

Floats are elements that are taken out of the normal flow of the document and floated to the left or right of the containing element. This can be used to create columns of text, for example.

10. What is the purpose of the clear property?

The clear property is used to control the positioning of elements on a page. It is used to specify whether an element should be positioned above or below other elements on the page. The clear property can also be used to prevent an element from floating next to another element.

11. Can you explain the differences between display: none vs visibility: hidden?

The main difference between the two is that display: none will completely remove an element from the page, while visibility: hidden will only make it invisible. This means that if you use display: none, the element will not take up any space on the page, while if you use visibility: hidden, the element will still take up space but will be invisible.

12. What are the key points to keep in mind when designing a responsive web page layout?

There are a few key points to keep in mind when designing a responsive web page layout:

1. Use a responsive grid system to structure your page. This will ensure that your page elements resize and rearrange themselves appropriately on different screen sizes.

2. Use media queries to target specific screen sizes and apply different CSS rules accordingly.

3. Make sure your page content is legible and easy to navigate on all devices, including smaller screens.

4. Use responsive images that resize themselves automatically to fit the width of the screen.

5. Use responsive design principles to create a page that looks good and works well on all devices.

13. Can you explain the term “mobile first”?

“Mobile first” is a design philosophy that starts with designing for mobile devices first, and then expands to larger screen sizes from there. The thinking behind this is that it is easier to scale up a design than it is to scale down, so it is better to start with the smaller screen size and work your way up.

14. Are there any limitations on using :before and :after pseudo-elements?

Yes, there are some limitations to using :before and :after pseudo-elements. One such limitation is that they can only be used with certain elements, such as block-level elements. Additionally, these pseudo-elements must be declared before any other content within the element, otherwise they will not be rendered.

15. What are the advantages of using a container div tag?

There are a few advantages to using a container div tag:

1. It can help to keep your code more organized
2. It can make it easier to apply CSS styles to your document
3. It can help to prevent elements from overlapping each other

16. What is the default value of the position property?

The default value of the position property is “static”. This means that elements will be positioned according to their normal flow within the document.

17. What is the order of precedence in which styles are applied to HTML tags?

The order of precedence in which styles are applied to HTML tags is the following:

1. Inline styles
2. External and internal style sheets
3. Browser default settings

18. What are some common mistakes made by people learning CSS?

A common mistake is to try to position elements using the top and bottom properties without also setting the position property to absolute or relative. Another mistake is to try to use percentages for the left and right properties without also setting the position property to absolute.

19. Can you give me some examples of websites that have good CSS layouts?

Some examples of websites with good CSS layouts are Google, Amazon, and Facebook. All of these websites have layouts that are easy to understand and use, and they all make use of CSS to achieve their look.

20. What does the following declaration mean: body { font: 75% sans-serif }

The font-size property is set to 75% of the parent element’s font size. The font-family is set to the generic sans-serif font.