Fallback Alignment

May 20, 2023

Fallback alignment refers to the default alignment that is applied when a certain alignment property is not supported or is not recognized by a particular web browser. This technique is commonly used in web development to ensure that web pages are displayed consistently across different browsers, especially older ones that may not support the latest CSS properties.

Purpose

The purpose of fallback alignment is to provide a consistent layout for web pages across different browsers, especially older versions of browsers that may not support the latest CSS properties. When a new alignment property is introduced, it may not be supported by all browsers, and if it is not recognized, it will be ignored, which can result in inconsistent layouts. By using a fallback alignment property, web developers can ensure that their web pages still look consistent across different browsers, even if some of them do not support the latest CSS properties.

Usage

Fallback alignment is used in CSS to provide a default value for alignment properties. For example, the justify-content property is used to align and distribute items along the main axis of a flex container. The justify-content property has several possible values, such as flex-start, center, flex-end, and space-between. However, if a browser does not support the justify-content property, it will be ignored and the items will be aligned using the default value, which is flex-start.

To ensure consistent layout across different browsers, web developers can use fallback alignment by specifying a default value for the justify-content property that will be used if the browser does not support it. For example:

.my-flex-container {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center; /* fallback alignment */
  justify-content: space-around; /* preferred alignment */
}

In the example above, the justify-content property is set to center as the fallback alignment, which will be used if the browser does not support the justify-content property. The preferred alignment is space-around, which will be used if the browser supports the justify-content property.

Another example of fallback alignment is the text-align property, which is used to align text within an element. The text-align property has several possible values, such as left, center, right, and justify. If a browser does not support the text-align property, it will be ignored and the text will be aligned using the default value, which is left.

To ensure consistent layout across different browsers, web developers can use fallback alignment by specifying a default value for the text-align property that will be used if the browser does not support it. For example:

.my-text {
  text-align: center; /* fallback alignment */
  text-align: justify; /* preferred alignment */
}

In the example above, the text-align property is set to center as the fallback alignment, which will be used if the browser does not support the text-align property. The preferred alignment is justify, which will be used if the browser supports the text-align property.