Dynamic Design: Unleashing the Power of VW & VH in CSS

In the world of web design and development, it's essential to develop user interfaces that are responsive to different devices and screen sizes. This is where CSS comes into play, providing various units of measurement to define the length of elements on a web page. Viewport Width and Viewport Height abbreviated "VW" and "VH," are two of these units.

Using these units in CSS can make our designs more dynamic and adaptable, as they are based on the size of the viewport and instantaneously adjust to changes in screen size or orientation. In this blog, we'll look at how to utilize CSS to build a responsive user interface using VW and VH units.

Setting Element Width with VW Units

The width of an element can be set in VW units as a percentage of the viewport width. For example, no matter the size of the screen, if we set an element's width to 50vw, it will occupy 50% of the viewport width. This is especially helpful for items like header and footer sections that must occupy a specific amount of the screen.

Here's an example of how to set the width of a header element using VW units:

header {
  width: 100vw;
}

Setting Element Height with VH Units

Similar to VW units, VH units establish an element's height as a percentage of the viewport height. This is useful for items like full-screen sections or background graphics that must occupy a specific proportion of the screen's vertical space.

Here's an example of how to set the height of a full-screen section using VH units:

section {
  height: 100vh;
}

Using Media Queries with VW and VH Units

Even though VW and VH units are helpful for developing a responsive user interface, they might not always give the precise behavior we want on various screen sizes. Media queries come into play in this situation, allowing us to specify various styles for various device types, screen sizes, and orientations.

Here's an example of how to use media queries with VW and VH units to adjust the font size of a header element based on the viewport width:

header {
  width: 100vw;
  font-size: 3vw;
}

@media (min-width: 500px) {
  header {
    font-size: 2vw;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 800px) {
  header {
    font-size: 1.5vw;
  }
}

In this example, the font size of the header element starts at 3vw and decreases as the viewport width increases, reaching 1.5vw on screens with a width of 800px or more.

Here's a working example of using VW and VH units in combination with media queries to create a responsive user interface:

In this example, we're utilizing the power of media queries to make our UI responsive. The .container class has its height set to 90VH and width set to 89VW, providing an ample and easily readable area for your content. The font sizes for the .heading, .Subheading, and .body classes are expressed using VW units, making them adjust to the viewport size dynamically.

To cater to portrait orientation, the media query at the end of the code adjusts the font sizes to a larger size, ensuring easy readability on smaller screens.

By utilizing media queries and VW/VH units, we can guarantee that our content stays legible and visually appealing on any device, leading to an exceptional user experience.

Conclusion

Using VW and VH units in CSS allows us to create responsive user interfaces that adjust dynamically to different devices and screen sizes. We can fine-tune the design and behavior of our interfaces in combination with media queries to provide a consistent user experience across all devices. Whether you're a seasoned web designer or just starting out, incorporating VW and VH units into your workflow can help you create dynamic and adaptable interfaces for the modern web.