What is float property in CSS ?

Last Updated : 16 May, 2023

In this article, we will learn about CSS float property with suitable examples of all available attributes.

The float property is used to change the normal flow of an element. It defines how an element should float and place an element on its container's right or left side.

The general syntax of the float property.

float: none|inherit|left|right|initial;

Note - The default value of the float property is none and it won't work with the absolutely positioned element.

Property values of the float

Value	Description
none	It is the default value of a float property. The element must no float.
inherit	property must be inherited from its parent element.
left	Place an element on its container's right.
right	Place an element on its container's left.
initial	The property is set to its default value.

Example of the float property using float value left.: In the below example, we use the float value left. After using this value the element must be left on its container as shown in the below image.

Example: In this example, we are using the above-explained method.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Float Left</title>
    <style>
        img {
            float: left;
            /* element must be left on its container */
            height: 100px;
        }

        div {
            width: 300px;
            height: 220px;
            box-shadow: 0px 2px 2px 2px;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <div>
        <h1> float left...</h1>

        <p>The below picture must be left on its container.</p>

        <img src=
"https://img.icons8.com/color/452/GeeksforGeeks.png">

        <p>The GeeksforGeeks is the portal for geeks
            that contain computer science and programming
            articles. 
          </p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Example of the float property using float value right.

In the below example, we use the float value right. After using this value the element must be right on its container as shown in the below image.

Example: In this example, we are using the float property.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Float Right</title>
    <style>
        img {
            float: right;
            /* element must be right on its container */
            height: 100px;
        }

        div {
            width: 300px;
            height: 220px;
            box-shadow: 0px 2px 2px 2px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div>
        <h1> float right...</h1>

        <p>The below picture must be right on its container.</p>

        <img src=
"https://img.icons8.com/color/452/GeeksforGeeks.png">

        <p>The GeeksforGeeks is the portal for geeks
            that contain computer science and
            programming articles. 
          </p>

    </div>
</body>
</html>

float property with an absolutely positioned element.

In the below example, we will see that the float property won't work with an absolutely positioned element.

Example: Here is the basic example of using the float property.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Float</title>
    <style>
        img {
            float: right;
            /* It won't work because element is absolutely positioned */
            height: 100px;
            position: absolute;
        }

        div {
            width: 300px;
            height: 230px;
            box-shadow: 0px 2px 2px 2px;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <div>
        <h1> float with absolutely positioned element.</h1>

        <p>floating won't work</p>

        <img src=
"https://img.icons8.com/color/452/GeeksforGeeks.png">

        <p>The GeeksforGeeks is the portal for
            geeks that contain computer
            science and programming articles. 
          </p>

    </div>
</body>
</html>

The CSS float property is used before flexbox and grid. Today we want a website which is mobile friendly. The flexbox is more efficient rather than the float.

These are the following reasons to use Flexbox over floats.

Positioning child elements becomes easier with Flexbox.
flexbox is responsive and mobile-friendly.
flex container's margins do not collapse with the margins of its content.
we can easily change the order of elements on our webpage without even making changes in HTML.

Conclusion - In this article, we learned CSS float property with available values and suitable examples.

vikashgautam11

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What is float property in CSS ?

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