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CSS diagonal sections can be built with an SVG triangle, clip-path, or a CSS transform. A transform is a flexible option when you want a section’s background to slope while its text stays upright: skew the section, then reverse the skew on its content—or skew a background pseudo-element instead.

Choose how to make the diagonal

Nils Binder’s 9elements tutorial describes three approaches: add an SVG triangle, clip part of a section with CSS, or transform a box. The third approach is the tutorial’s main example. CSS-Tricks also outlines the three techniques and illustrates a clip-path variation.

Approach How it creates the edge Content and spacing considerations
SVG triangle A triangle graphic supplies the angled edge. The edge is a separate graphic; account for how it meets the section and where content sits around it.
clip-path Clips part of the section into a sloped shape. Clipping shapes the section itself, so plan content placement within the visible area.
CSS transform Skews the section or a separate background layer. Skewing the section also skews its contents unless you reverse the content transform or isolate the background on a pseudo-element. Allow space for the sloped boundary.

The sources do not establish a universal winner for browser compatibility, performance, accessibility, or maintainability. Those are project-specific questions to evaluate for your design and target browsers.

Skew a section while keeping its content upright

In the transform approach, the outer section spans the page and an inner container holds the content. Skewing the outer section also skews everything inside it. Apply the opposite skew to the inner content to restore its orientation.

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<section class="diagonal-box">
  <div class="content">
    <h2>A sloped section</h2>
    <p>This content stays upright.</p>
  </div>
</section>
.diagonal-box {
  transform: skewY(-11deg);
}

.content {
  margin-inline: auto;
  max-width: 50em;
  transform: skewY(11deg);
}

The 50em maximum width is a sample value from Binder’s markup, not a required setting. Adjust it to match the rest of your page. Likewise, the -11deg angle is an example; choose an angle that suits your layout.

Keep the background separate with a pseudo-element

If you would rather not transform the section’s content and then undo that transform, skew a background layer behind it. Make the section a positioning context, stretch its ::before pseudo-element across the section, and place the content above that layer.

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.diagonal-box {
  position: relative;
}

.diagonal-box::before {
  content: "";
  position: absolute;
  inset: 0;
  transform: skewY(-11deg);
  z-index: 0;
}

.diagonal-box .content {
  position: relative;
  z-index: 1;
}

Give the pseudo-element the section’s background styling. This separation is useful when the content needs its own transform or animation: the background shape and foreground no longer share the same transform.

Make room for the sloped edge

A diagonal boundary takes up space that would otherwise be available to content. Binder derives the extra spacing from the section width and skew angle:

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x = tan(α) * a / 2

Here, a is the container width and α is the skew angle. For Binder’s 11-degree example, tan(11°) / 2 = 0.09719 (Nils Binder, 9elements, 2020). This factor is specific to that example, not a universal spacing constant. Use it with the relevant width to estimate the required inset, then check the result at your actual layout sizes.

Use CSS tan() with the right date context

Binder’s 2020 article explains that CSS calculations at the time could not use tangent directly, so its example calculated the factor separately, stored it in a custom property, and scaled it using a width custom property. The example changes its content width at a 42em media-query breakpoint; that, too, is a sample setting rather than a recommended breakpoint for every site.

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A section explicitly labeled “Update 2023: Using tan() in CSS” says CSS updates allow the calculation to use tan() directly. Consult MDN’s CSS tan() reference for the function’s current details. Do not treat the 2020 limitation as a statement about CSS today.

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Check the result in your layout

  • Choose an edge-making method based on whether you want a graphic, a clipped shape, or a transformed box.
  • If you skew the whole section, counter-skew its content; if you skew a pseudo-element, position the content above it.
  • Estimate the spacing needed for the diagonal using the section width and angle, then inspect the content area at the widths your page uses.
  • Evaluate browser support and other project requirements against current documentation; the cited tutorials do not provide a compatibility, performance, or accessibility comparison.

For the original transform examples and the dated update, see Nils Binder’s 9elements tutorial. For a second overview of the approaches, see CSS-Tricks’ feature.

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