The Holy Grail structure earned its name because it used to be as soon as frustrating to build. Designers wanted a clean header and footer with two sidebars flanking a major content material materials column, then again making those columns behave, in particular responsively, frequently required hacks and workarounds.
That’s exactly the kind of downside Divi 5‘s Grid Machine is meant to get to the bottom of. CSS Grid has all the time been one of the crucial best equipment for this structure, and Divi 5 brings Grid controls directly into the Visual Builder so that you’ll set column ratios, spacing, and responsive conduct without leaving your workflow. In this put up, we’ll assemble the Holy Grail structure step by step and fine-tune it for every software. Let’s get started!
What Is The Holy Grail Structure?
The Holy Grail structure features a header at the best, a footer at the bottom, and three columns throughout the center. Your primary content material materials is located throughout the center column, which is most often the widest, while the left and right kind columns contain elements very similar to navigation or advertisements.
By the use of David Lark – Non-public art work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Hyperlink
In 2001, Rob Chandanai created the principle herbal CSS type of this three-column design. Eric Costello later gave it the “Holy Grail” name, and that label captured the disgruntlement totally. Designers wanted this structure badly. Getting it to art work right kind was any other story.
The early methods used background images, JavaScript to match column heights, and an excessive number of nested divs. They got the job carried out, form of. Then again every approach had problems.
What Makes The Holy Grail Structure So Attention-grabbing
The identical best columns made this structure a should have. Content material materials gave the impression balanced, without reference to how so much text each and every column contained. Web pages with reasonably a large number of content material materials benefited from the clear building.
Data portals would possibly get ready articles alongside ads and navigation. Blogs got clean sidebars for categories and up-to-the-minute posts. Online retail outlets came upon space for product filters and proposals.
The center column stored your central content material materials front and center. Readers enthusiastic about what mattered while however having speedy get admission to to navigation and extras. The design worked merely as smartly on phones as it did on desktops. Columns would possibly stack or reorder in step with show size.
Meet Divi 5’s CSS Grid Device
Divi 5 puts CSS Grid directly into the Visual Builder. Sections, rows, columns, and groups all art work as grid packing containers now. Drop any module inside this type of packing containers, and it turns right into a grid products. Text blocks, images, and buttons all snap into the grid building you create.
When you add a work or row, you’ll see Grid templates alongside Flex choices. Select a three-column template, a four-column structure, or a sidebar building. The templates deal with the setup. You drop in content material materials, and the grid automatically positions the whole lot correctly. This auto placement fills cells in order. The principle products goes throughout the first mobile, the second in the second mobile, and so on down the street.
What makes Divi 5’s Grids stand out is:
Column And Row Controls
Hollow controls deal with spacing. Horizontal Hollow puts space between columns. Vertical Hollow spaces out rows. Set each and every to 20px, and in addition you get consistent breathing room all over all of your grid. The Visual Builder shows the ones changes reside as you’re making adjustments.

Column Widths get a hold of 5 alternatives. Similar Width Columns make the whole lot uniform. Auto Width Columns size in step with content material materials. Guide Width Columns permit you to write your individual CSS values like 1fr 2fr 1fr for custom designed proportions. Similar Minimum Width and Similar Fixed Width deal with other sizing needs.

Row Heights art work the equivalent way. Auto adjusts to content material materials, Similar makes they all have compatibility, Minimum devices a baseline, and Fixed locks particularly measurements. Mix a four-column grid with auto best rows, and in addition you get a structure that adapts to regardless of content material materials you throw at it.

Software Specific Settings
Each and every grid atmosphere works all over all show sizes. Change column counts for tablets, keep an eye on gaps for phones, or trade the entire Grid Path on mobile devices. The responsive controls sit down right kind inside each and every atmosphere. Click on at the software icon, choose your breakpoint, and alter that specific show size without touching the others.
Guide Regulate Via Offset Laws
Auto placement works until you need something different. Grid Offset Laws allow you to spoil items out of the automatic flow. You’ll make an products span a few columns, pin it to a specific row, or shift its position irrespective of where it sits to your code.
Objective the principle products, purpose every third products, or write custom designed nth child selectors for sophisticated patterns. Set a Column Span of 2, and that products stretches all over two columns. Pin it to Row Get began 3, and it jumps to the third row. The ones rules create asymmetrical layouts where certain pieces stand out, while others adhere to the standard grid.
This system handles the Holy Grail structure we discussed earlier. 3 columns on desktop, stacked on mobile, with actual keep watch over over every measurement and spacing value. All of it happens through dropdowns, sliders, and amount fields. Divi cuts out the CSS so that you’ll point of interest on building your aspired layouts visually.
If you want to uncover all the alternatives available for Grids, proper right here’s a deep dive this is going over each and every of the ones alternatives.
Making A Holy Grail Structure In Divi 5
The grid controls we merely covered art work together to create this Holy Grail structure and not using a lot effort. We’re going to build this step by step, and to show you tactics briefly the pieces fall into place as quickly because the initial building is able. Have a look:
Add A Grid Phase To Your Internet web page
Get began via together with a work to your internet web page via clicking on the blue (+) icon to your internet web page. Clicking on it finds a bunch of premade structure templates for each and every Flexbox and Grid.

For the reason that Holy Grail structure works best with CSS Grids, we will make a selection one of the crucial premade Grid templates, which will likely be marked with a yellow badge.

Select the four-column template. This template choices 4 columns arranged all over two rows.

Delete the fourth column via clicking on the delete icon throughout the settings.
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Then, head to the Selection of Columns field and set it to a couple of beneath Structure Settings throughout the Design tab. You’ll be left with a clean, three-column building where each and every column occupies identical space.

Divi 5 in reality includes a grid template that resembles the Holy Grail structure. It comes with header and footer columns already built in.

We’re skipping it so that you’ll see how you can assemble the development from scratch. Eliminating the extra header and footer areas moreover requires additional steps previous the scope of this walkthrough. On the other hand, if you happen to’re looking to build a landing internet web page or need to use the header and footer space for something else, feel free to use the discussed template.
Set Proportions
Now, the three columns we added have identical widths. Then again the Holy Grail design is different. Your primary content material materials should be situated throughout the center, where it receives necessarily probably the most space. The sidebars on each and every side should be narrower, as they only contain navigation, ads, or additional links.
To achieve this, navigate to the Design tab and in finding Column Widths beneath Structure. Click on at the dropdown and make a selection Guide Width Columns. This feature allows you to write custom designed values for each and every column, somewhat than protecting them uniform.

Kind 1fr 2fr 1fr into the Grid Column Template field. The fr unit stands for fractional unit, and it divides your container’s available space into parts. The ones 3 values add up to a whole of 4 parts.

The left sidebar takes 1 segment out of 4, which equals 25% of the width, while your center column takes 2 parts out of 4, which equals 50%. The best sidebar takes the overall segment, any other 25%. This ratio creates the antique Holy Grail look with a prominent content material materials space flanked via narrower sidebars.
You’ll keep an eye on the ones numbers later if you want to produce other proportions. Take a look at 1fr 3fr 1fr for a very good wider center, or 2fr 3fr 2fr for rather higher sidebars.
Regulate Gaps And Spacing
Your 3 columns in this day and age are sized correctly, then again the structure seems to be like cramped. That happens because of Divi devices rows to 80% width via default. Head to the Sizing tab beneath Design. Change Width and Max Width to 99%. This makes your row span the whole width of the container while however leaving some breathing space.

You need to moreover use 99vw, which stretches the row all over the entire viewport irrespective of mom or father packing containers. The 99% value works upper proper right here as it respects your web page’s content material materials width settings and doesn’t create horizontal scrollbars.
Now for the gaps between columns. Find the Horizontal Hollow field beneath Structure. Content material material-heavy web pages, very similar to blogs, art work smartly with gaps of 40px to 60px. Portfolios and image galleries appear further visually fascinating with a tighter spacing of spherical 20px to 30px. Minimalist designs can transfer even wider at 80px or further.

Pixels art work high quality, then again you’ll need to keep an eye on them manually for each and every show size. Divi 5 helps rem, em, percentages, clamp, and calc purposes right here, which can scale upper.
If you want to take this extra and automate the ones spacing alternatives all over all of your web page while maintaining responsiveness, check out our knowledge on creating a gap-based spacing device in Divi 5.
Set Up Number one And Sidebar Content material materials
The Holy Grail structure divides pages into 3 helpful zones. The center column receives necessarily probably the most width to turn primary content material materials like articles, product listings, or portfolios.
Different web page types need different content material materials configurations. A blog amenities articles throughout the center column. The left sidebar shows put up categories, archives via date, and a search function. The best sidebar holds creator bios, common posts, and electronic message signup forms. Data web pages apply an similar patterns then again frequently add breaking knowledge widgets or trending topics to a single sidebar.
While sidebar roles may flip in step with regional preferences, the center all the time dominates:
- Blogs illustrate this via placing articles or put up content material materials throughout the center, archives and search on the left, and bios or common posts at the correct.
- Data web pages frequently use an similar configurations then again frequently add breaking knowledge widgets or trending topics to their sidebars.
- Portfolio web pages sing their own praises art work throughout the center column the use of galleries or enterprise grids. The left sidebar comprises filters via enterprise type, shopper, or twelve months. The best sidebar choices shopper testimonials, awards, contact forms, and social proof.
- Trade and service web pages prominently feature supplier descriptions or case analysis. The left sidebar organizes services and products and merchandise via elegance or industry. The best sidebar drives conversions with contact forms, business hours, and agree with badges or shopper trademarks to resolve authority.
- Membership web pages and learning platforms place path content material materials throughout the central column. The left sidebar shows energy module navigation, construction tracking, and lesson lists. The best sidebar shows instructor wisdom, upcoming reside classes, or discussion forums, serving to pupil retention.
Together with Modules To Your Columns
Click on at the black plus icon to your columns to seem all the modules Divi 5 provides.
Modules very similar to Text, Pictures, and Blurbs fortify dynamic content material that retrieves details from your database. You need to assign dynamic content material materials to a Determine since the Post Determine, and it’s going to turn the determine of your put up automatically.
Divi 5 moreover contains modules like Post Sliders for appearing content material materials. For additonal keep watch over, that you just should pair the Crew and Crew Carousel modules with Divi 5’s Loop Builder.
The Loop Builder provides you with explicit content material materials filters when you need them. You need to permit the Loop selection to your column settings previous to together with modules. From there, set your query type to “posts,” choose your put up type, and filter via elegance, tag, or custom designed field. This setup works smartly for featured content material materials sections, curated collections, or any state of affairs where automatic chronological ordering doesn’t meet your needs.
For navigation, that you just should use the Menu module and configure which menu to turn throughout the module settings. An Icon Tick list module moreover works smartly for organized navigation elements. You need to add an Piece of email Optin module at the best for publication signups and place a Social Media Follow module underneath for engagement. Image modules are great for banners or visual callouts throughout your structure.
Place the ones modules in whichever column is smart to your web page and want. Your content material materials type, target audience needs, and design preferences should knowledge the ones alternatives. Use animations and sticky effects to make the ones layouts further interesting.
You should check out different arrangements and assume from your buyer’s point of view, and keep an eye on the module placement in step with how people in reality use your web page, not merely the best way you assume they’ll.

After placing your modules, style them in conjunction with your favourite colors, fonts, border sorts, and additional, making them further fascinating. You’ll moreover use Design Variables for the ones elements and even create or use provide Choice Crew and Component Presets.
Configure How The Structure Appears to be On Devices
Now that your Holy Grail structure is coming together, you need to keep an eye on it for all show sizes to make it in reality responsive. Divi 5 provides you with seven customizable breakpoints. Each breakpoint allows you to preview and edit the fitting show size range.
It moreover includes a Responsive Editor that permits you to keep watch over settings all over all breakpoints at the same time as. Seek for the small icon next to any atmosphere field. Click on on it to open the responsive editor panel.
You’ll keep an eye on values for each and every breakpoint without switching to some other view mode. The icon turns blue when a atmosphere has modified values all over different breakpoints.
That 40px spacing works on desktop then again feels too free on a 375px phone show. Click on at the responsive editor icon next to the Vertical Hollow field. Scale back it to 20px for the Phone breakpoint. Your Horizontal Hollow received’t matter since columns stack vertically on mobile. Regardless of changes you’re making most straightforward persist for the breakpoints at which they have got been made. This received’t affect how your desktop structure turns out.
Stacking Your Structure To Upper Have compatibility Constraints
The Holy Grail structure works smartly on desktops, then again requires adjustments for phones and tablets, since the horizontal space isn’t readily available.
Your 3 columns need to stack vertically on phones. Switch to the Phone breakpoint the use of the software icons at the best of the Visual Builder, then open your row settings. Navigate to Content material materials and click on on Change Column Building. Make a choice the single-column selection. This converts your 3 columns proper right into a stacked structure for phones while preserving the desktop building.
On the other hand, this may occasionally each and every so ceaselessly disrupt the content material materials flow, as it pushes the principle content material materials a long way underneath, in particular if your sidebars are full of modules. To maintain this, likelihood is that you’ll open each and every column’s settings and to seek out the Order tab. Regulate the order values to keep watch over the collection. Set your center column to at least one, left sidebar to 2, and right kind sidebar to a couple of. Columns will reorder on mobile without affecting desktop.

In the end, if sought after, you’ll all the time disguise modules on mobile devices and tablets via going to Sophisticated > Visibility. This may well be useful to make the principle content material materials appear briefly on certain devices.

Your Holy Grail structure requires a header at the best and a footer at the bottom. Divi’s Theme Builder takes care of the whole lot that shows up all over a few pages. You assemble a header once and it sort of feels that on every internet web page automatically. The equivalent applies to footers, blog put up layouts, product pages, and a few different template you need to use sitewide.
Head to Divi > Theme Builder to your WordPress dashboard. You’ll see the default template sitting there at the best. Click on on Add Global Header or Add Global Footer, and the Visual Builder opens up very similar to while you built that three-column grid earlier.

Drop to your menu modules, trademarks, social icons, and speak to buttons. Style them on the other hand you want.

The footer works the equivalent way.

And very similar to that, the structure once considered onerous is now simplest an issue of a few clicks with Divi 5.
Proper right here’s where it’s going to get useful. That Holy Grail building you merely built can grow to be your actual blog put up template. Create a brand spanking new template, assign it to All Posts, and add a Post Content material materials module right kind to your center column.
Now every blog put up you publish fills that center space while your sidebars hang navigation and widgets exactly the position you situated them.
You’ll moreover specify where templates appear. Display one header to your homepage and turn it out for something different on retailer pages. Assemble custom designed layouts for WooCommerce products or elegance archives. Set prerequisites to turn templates most straightforward on explicit put up types, exclude them from certain pages, or purpose explicit individual categories and tags.
Take a look at CSS Grid In Divi 5 Nowadays!
The Holy Grail structure tested developers’ patience for years. Getting those 3 columns to behave took exact talent and patience.
Smartly, fortunately, you’re going to have Divi 5‘s Grid Machine. You get column layouts, responsive stacking, custom designed proportions, and actual keep watch over over every aspect of your design. The Visual Builder shows your changes reside.
The entire thing we walked through proper right here works without requiring any code changes. Assemble what used to take hours of CSS in merely minutes with Divi 5.
The put up How To Create ‘The Holy Grail’ Grid Web page Format With Divi 5 seemed first on Chic Issues Weblog.
Contents
- 1 What Is The Holy Grail Structure?
- 2 Meet Divi 5’s CSS Grid Device
- 3 Making A Holy Grail Structure In Divi 5
- 4 Take a look at CSS Grid In Divi 5 Nowadays!
- 5 How you can Create a Scroll Container for Your Divi Feedback Module
- 6 How E.l.f. Noticed A 49% Build up in Gross sales via Focusing On Gen Z
- 7 How to Remove Unused WordPress Themes & Why You Should


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