When designing a website, catering to left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL) languages is crucial for a global audience. While most developers are familiar with using margin-left and margin-right for layout adjustments, these properties have limitations in environments where text direction changes. Enter margin-inline-start and its logical counterpart – a modern CSS property that makes designing multilingual and bidirectional content easier.
In this article, we’ll explore how switching from margin-left/margin-right to margin-inline-start and margin-inline-end can improve flexibility and maintain consistency across LTR and RTL languages.
Understand logical properties in CSS
Traditional CSS properties (such as margin-left and margin-right) are physical properties, which means that their behavior is relative to the visual left and right sides of the screen. This works well for LTR languages such as English, but causes problems when the page orientation is switched to RTL (for example, Arabic or Hebrew).
The logical properties introduced in CSS3 are orientation independent. They adjust based on the writing mode of the file or element. The main logical margin properties include:
• margin-inline-start: Replaces LTR’s margin-left and RTL’s margin-right.
• margin-inline-end: Replaces LTR’s margin-right and RTL’s margin-left.
These attributes are more consistent with the natural flow of two-way text, making them an integral part of international web design.
Why use margin-inline-start?
1 – Seamless RTL support
When you use margin-left, it always applies margin to the left side of the element, regardless of text orientation. This behavior does not change even if the page switches to RTL, causing the layout to be misaligned. In contrast, margin-inline-start adjusts based on text orientation, applying margins to the appropriate side:
/* Logical property */
.element {
margin-inline-start: 20px;
}
/* Equivalent to */
:root[dir="ltr"] .element {
margin-left: 20px;
}
:root[dir="rtl"] .element {
margin-right: 20px;
}
2 – Cleaner code
Without logical attributes, supporting LTR and RTL would require direction-specific styles, adding complexity and potential errors. Here is a comparison:
Traditional method:
:root[dir="ltr"] .element {
margin-left: 20px;
}
:root[dir="rtl"] .element {
margin-right: 20px;
}
Modern approach:
.element {
margin-inline-start: 20px;
}
3 – Future-proof and scalable
Logical properties are part of CSS’ ongoing evolution into adaptive and flexible layout. By using margin-inline-start, you can align your design with modern standards, making it more scalable and maintainable.
real world examples
Here’s how to refactor a typical card layout for better RTL support:
Before: Use margin-left
.card {
margin-left: 1rem;
padding-left: 2rem;
}
In RTL, the layout will look different because the spacing on the left remains fixed.
After: use margin-inline-start
.card {
margin-inline-start: 1rem;
padding-inline-start: 2rem;
}
Margins and padding now adjust automatically when orientation changes, ensuring a consistent user experience.
Browser support
Modern browsers (including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari) all support logical attributes well. If you need to support older browsers, consider using fallback:
.card {
margin-left: 1rem; /* Fallback */
margin-inline-start: 1rem;
}
final thoughts
Switching to a logical attribute like margin-inline-start is a small change but can have a big impact on accessibility, maintainability, and internationalization. As the web becomes increasingly global, adopting these attributes ensures your designs are inclusive and suitable for users around the world.
So the next time you use margin-left, pause and consider: Would margin-inline-start do a better job? Chances are, it will.
Happy coding and may your designs flow perfectly in any language!