Inline-Block div elements do not line up as expected

Question

I have some HTML and CSS that creates inline block elements (divs) that one might find on a landing page. However, they only appear to be vertically aligned correctly when they contain some content (an unordered list) inside the divs. If there is no content in the div, the element get pushed down. Here is a jsfiddle. Here is the code. Can anybody explain why the third div block is not vertically aligned?

EDIT: While I'm comfortable that the "fix" to this issue is to ensure that each div uses "vertical-align:top" in the styling, I'm still a little puzzled as to why I'm required to use this styling in the first place. I would think that the div elements would always line up evenly, regardless of the content inside the divs.

<html>
  <head>
<style type="text/css">
    body {
        font-family: Helvetica;
    }

    h1 {
        margin: 0px;
        padding: 10px;
        font-weight: bold;
        border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa;
        font-size: 12px;
    }

    a {
        text-decoration: none;
    }

    ul {
        padding-left: 20px;
    }

    li {
        list-style-type: none;
        font-size: 12px;
    }

    .landing-block {
        display: inline-block;
        background-color: #eeeeee;
        margin-right: 30px;
        width: 192px;
        height: 140px;
        border: 1px solid #aaaaaa;
        -moz-box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
        -webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
        box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
    }

    .header {
        padding: 10px;
        background-color: red;
        border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa;
        color: #ffffff;
    }

    a:hover {
        text-decoration:underline; 
    }

    h1 > a {
        color: #ffffff;
    }

    h1 > a:hover { 
        color:#ffffff;
    }

    li > a {
        color: #000000;
    }

    li > a:hover { 
        color: #000000;
    }
   </style>
    </head>
    <body>
    <div>
        <div class='landing-block'>
            <h1 style='background-color: #3991db;'>
                <a href='#'>COMPANIES</a>
            </h1>
            <ul>
                <li><a href='#'>Search Companies</a></li>
                <li><a href='#'>New Company</a></li>
            <ul>
        </div>
        <div class='landing-block'>
            <h1 style='background-color: #9139db;'>
                <a href='#'>PEOPLE</a>
            </h1>
            <ul>
                <li><a href='#'>Search People</a></li>
                <li><a href='#'>New Person</a></li>
            <ul>
        </div>
        <div class='landing-block'>
            <h1 style='background-color: #c2db39;'>
                <a href='#'>Products</a>
            </h1>
        </div>
    <div>
</body>
</html>

score 37 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:22

37

inline-block elements are vertical-align:baseline; by default. Change this to vertical-align:top;

 .landing-block {
        display: inline-block;
        background-color: #eeeeee;
        margin-right: 30px;
        width: 192px;
        height: 140px;
        border: 1px solid #aaaaaa;
        -moz-box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
        -webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
        box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
        vertical-align:top; /* add this rule */

    }

answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:22

koningdavid

7,903
7
35
46

Thanks, that was an easy fix! However, I'm still a little bit confused as to what actually causes the third block to move down like that. Why does the "baseline" appear to be the bottom of the div's inner content and not the bottom of the div itself? – Ken Jul 16 '13 at 15:38
@Ken The 3rd div is actually at the baseline, the inner two lines at the other 2 elements "pushes" the divs 2 lines up – koningdavid Jul 16 '13 at 15:46

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:21

9

add vertical-align:top; to .landing-block class

answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:21

Manoj Meena

244
1
5

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:32

8

Set vertical-align: top for the .landing-block class declaration in your CSS.

answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:32

ponysmith

427
2
4

score -3 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:27

-3

Add float: left

.landing-block {
display: inline-block;
background-color: #eeeeee;
margin-right: 30px;
width: 192px;
height: 140px;
border: 1px solid #aaaaaa;
-moz-box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
-webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
box-shadow: 3px 3px 5px #535353;
float: left;

}

jsfiddle

answered Jul 16 '13 at 15:27

Hello World

328
4
12

Why would I need a float: left if I already have inline-blocks that can be placed inside a line. – Gherman Oct 22 '15 at 06:56

Inline-Block div elements do not line up as expected

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