Introducing Dynamic Row Heights
Published on: March 31, 2025
Jake Engelen
Since October 1, 2024
Introducing Dynamic Row Heights
In the Jelly Machine site editor, one of the standout features is Dynamic Row Heights. This functionality allows the rows in your grid layouts to automatically adjust their height based on the content within them. Whether you're adding text, images, or other elements, the grid intelligently resizes to ensure everything fits perfectly without overflowing. Built on top of Tailwind CSS, this feature makes creating responsive and flexible designs easier than ever.
Why Dynamic Row Heights Matter
Imagine designing a webpage with multiple sections, each containing varying amounts of text. Without dynamic row heights, you might face issues where content spills over or gets cut off, leading to a poor user experience. Fixed row heights can be restrictive, especially when dealing with dynamic content that changes in size. Dynamic Row Heights solve this problem by allowing each row to expand or contract as needed, ensuring that all content is fully visible and neatly contained within its designated area.
How Dynamic Row Heights Work
Under the hood, this feature leverages the power of CSS Grid and Tailwind CSS utilities. By setting the grid rows to
auto, each row's height is determined by the tallest item in that row. This means that if one component in a row grows larger—say, a text block with multiple paragraphs—the entire row will adjust to accommodate it. In Tailwind, this can be achieved using custom grid row templates, such as grid-rows-[auto,auto,auto], which sets each row to automatically size based on its content.
Benefits for Users
- Effortless Layout Management: No need to manually set row heights or worry about content overflow. The grid handles it automatically.
- Enhanced Responsiveness: As content changes or screen sizes vary, the layout adapts seamlessly, maintaining a clean and professional appearance.
- Improved Readability: Especially for text-heavy sections, ensuring that all content is visible without awkward cropping or scrolling within cells.
Example Use Case
Consider a scenario where you have a grid with two columns and two rows. In the first row, you have a title and a short description. In the second row, you have an image and a longer block of text. Without dynamic row heights, the second row might truncate the text or cause it to overlap with other elements. However, with this feature enabled, the second row will automatically expand to fit the entire text block, while the first row remains compact, perfectly sized for its shorter content.
Conclusion
Dynamic Row Heights in the Jelly Machine site editor represent a significant step forward in creating flexible, user-friendly web designs. By automatically adjusting row sizes to fit content, this feature eliminates common layout headaches and ensures that your website always looks its best. Whether you're building a simple blog or a complex multi-section page, Dynamic Row Heights provide the adaptability and ease of use that modern web development demands.