Tailwind CSS

Position and Z-index


The position utility class is used to precisely control the positioning of elements within a layout. It offers a straightforward way to apply common positioning techniques such as static, relative, absolute, fixed, and sticky positioning, as well as control over the z-index stacking order.


Static Positioning

Elements are positioned statically, meaning they flow within the normal document flow. You can explicitly set this behavior using the static class.

 

Relative Positioning

The relative class allows you to position an element relative to its normal position in the document flow. Once positioned relative, you can use the top, right, bottom, and left classes to offset the element from its initial position.

 

Absolute Positioning

The absolute class removes the element from the normal document flow and positions it relative to its nearest positioned ancestor. You can use the top, right, bottom, and left classes to specify the exact position of the element.

 

Fixed Positioning

The fixed class positions the element relative to the viewport, meaning it stays in the same position even when the page is scrolled. You can use the top, right, bottom, and left classes to specify the exact position of the element within the viewport.

 

Sticky Positioning

The sticky class positioning scheme where an element is "stuck" to a certain position as the user scrolls down a webpage. It’s like hybrid of relative and fixed positioning. It behaves like relative positioning until the element reaches a specified scroll position, after which it becomes fixed. You can use the top, right, bottom, and left classes to specify the scroll threshold.

 

Z-Index

You can use the z-{n} class to control the stacking order of positioned elements. Elements with a higher z-index value will appear above elements with a lower z-index value.


By leveraging these utility classes, developers can quickly and efficiently design complex layouts without needing to write custom CSS, resulting in more maintainable and scalable codebases.