Why Aren't My Inline-Block Elements Aligning Side by Side?

Inline-Block Elements Failing to Align Side by Side

Consider a scenario where two elements with display: inline-block are assigned 50% width. One might expect them to fit side by side, but instead, they exceed the available space. To resolve this:

Origin of the Issue

Inline-block elements inherit a margin between them, despite appearing to eliminate it visually. This extra whitespace, typically around 4px, causes the total width of the two elements to exceed 100%.

Alternative Solutions

• Reduce Element Width: Decreasing the width of one element to 49% solves the overflow issue but introduces an undesirable gap.
• Float Elements: Floating both elements aligns them correctly, maintaining the 50% width for each.

Ideal Solution for Modern Browsers (2021 and beyond)

Flexbox or CSS Grid Layout are recommended alternatives to inline-block. They provide better control over spacing and layout without the inherent whitespace issue.

Inline-Block and Whitespace

To illustrate the whitespace issue, consider the following code:

body {
  margin: 0; /* remove default body margin */
}

div {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 50%;
}

.left {
  background-color: aqua;
}

.right {
  background-color: gold;
}

<div class="left">foo</div>
<div class="right">bar</div>

While the elements appear to be adjacent, there is a narrow margin between them in practice.

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