Relative vs. Absolute Positioning in CSS: What's the Difference?

Understanding Position: Relative vs Absolute in CSS

CSS positioning allows you to define the location of elements on a web page. Position: relative and position: absolute are two commonly used positioning options, but they differ in their behavior and purpose.

Position: Absolute

When you set position: absolute, the element is removed from the normal flow of the document and placed in an exact location on the page. The four positioning properties (top, right, bottom, left) are used as offsets to determine the element's position relative to the browser viewport or its parent container (if it has one with position overridden).

When to use position: absolute:

• To precisely position an element at a specific location on the page, independent of its position in the flow.
• To create floating elements that can overlap other page content.

Position: Relative

With position: relative, the element remains in the normal flow of the document, but its position is adjusted relative to its original location. The positioning properties work the same as for absolute positioning, but they offset the element's position from its current location in the flow.

When to use position: relative:

• To shift an element's position without removing it from the document flow.
• To create drop-down menus or other elements that display relative to their parent element.

Key Differences:

• Absolute positioning removes the element from the normal flow, while relative positioning keeps it in the flow.
• Absolute positioning determines the element's position relative to the viewport or parent container, while relative positioning shifts it from its current position in the flow.
• Elements with absolute positioning have a default width based on their content, while relatively positioned elements have a default width of 100%.

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