Build an educational approximation of a simple search homepage with CSS Grid Areas: give each page region a name, then arrange those names in grid-template-areas. The map makes the layout visible in your CSS and can be redrawn at a media query for narrower screens. This is a learning exercise, not an official Google design specification or exact replica.
What this exercise builds
The sample page has three regions: a header, a central search area, and a footer. The point is to practise placing those larger regions—not to reproduce every detail of Google’s interface. CSS Grid is two-dimensional, so it can organize both page regions and smaller interface elements. Named areas are one way to place items; line-based placement and automatic placement are alternatives.
Start with semantic HTML
Use ordinary elements for the page regions and give each one a class that can be assigned a grid area. The search form is kept simple so the lesson stays focused on layout.
<div class="homepage">
<header class="site-header">
<a href="#">About</a>
<a href="#">Images</a>
</header>
<main class="search">
<h1>Search</h1>
<form>
<label for="query">Search</label>
<input id="query" name="q" type="search">
<button type="submit">Search</button>
</form>
</main>
<footer class="site-footer">
<a href="#">Privacy</a>
<a href="#">Settings</a>
</footer>
</div>Replace the example links and content as needed; the # destinations are placeholders for a layout demo, not functional navigation.
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How to use grid-template-areas
Set the parent to display: grid, give each child a grid-area name, and use those names in quoted rows on the parent. MDN describes grid-template-areas as specifying named grid areas, establishing grid cells and assigning them names.
.homepage {
min-height: 100vh;
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr minmax(0, 680px) 1fr;
grid-template-rows: auto 1fr auto;
grid-template-areas:
"header header header"
". search ."
"footer footer footer";
gap: 1rem;
padding: 1rem;
}
.site-header {
grid-area: header;
}
.search {
grid-area: search;
align-self: center;
grid-column: 2;
}
.site-footer {
grid-area: footer;
}The three entries in each quoted row correspond to the three columns. In the first and last rows, repeating header and footer makes those regions span all three columns. The dots mark deliberately empty cells, leaving the search region centered between them. The search content is constrained by the middle track; component details such as arranging form controls can use other layout rules if those are clearer.
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How to make an area span or leave a blank cell
To span multiple cells, repeat the same area name in adjacent positions. To reserve a cell with no named area, use a period. Every row in the template must contain the same number of cells, and each named area must form a rectangle. If a name’s cells are separated or make an L-shape, the template is invalid and the browser ignores that template.
- Span: adjacent repetitions of one name create a larger rectangular area.
- Whitespace: a period is a null cell, not an area assigned to an element.
- Check: count each row’s cells and trace every repeated name to confirm it is contiguous and rectangular.
- For an L-shaped design: split it into separate regions or choose another placement method; one named area cannot be L-shaped.
Change the map for a narrow screen
A media query can redefine the tracks and map while the same elements keep their area names. Choose a breakpoint based on when this particular composition needs to change, rather than treating the example width as a universal rule.
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@media (max-width: 600px) {
.homepage {
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
grid-template-rows: auto 1fr auto;
grid-template-areas:
"header"
"search"
"footer";
}
.search {
grid-column: auto;
}
}The one-column version gives each region a full row. On wider screens, the original map uses a central content track with open space on either side. MDN’s responsive examples demonstrate the same general approach—redefining the area map at a media query—without prescribing a breakpoint for every design. MDN: Grid template areas.
Choose the placement method that suits the layout
| Method | How it places items | Good fit when |
|---|---|---|
| Named areas | Names are assigned with grid-area and arranged in a visual map with grid-template-areas. |
The page is easiest to understand as named regions, and you want the map to show the overall composition. |
| Line placement | Items use grid lines and spans, such as grid-row and grid-column. |
Explicit coordinates or spans are a clearer description of the placement. |
| Automatic placement | Grid places items that have not been assigned explicit positions. | The layout can flow into available cells without a hand-written map for every item. |
These approaches are not competing rules for every element on a page. A named map can describe the page regions while other Grid placement techniques handle details that do not fit naturally into that map. MDN: Grid layout using named grid lines.
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Browser support
MDN marks grid-template-areas as widely available and states that it has been available across browsers since October 2017. That date describes broad browser availability, not a usage statistic. See the MDN property reference for the property’s current documentation.
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