I still see a lot of confusion regarding Grid vs. Flexbox. I wanted to share my simple mental model for choosing between them.
1. Flexbox (One Dimension)
Use Flexbox when you are arranging items in a single row OR a single column. It is content-first.
css
.navbar {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between; /* Perfect for navigation bars */
}
2. CSS Grid (Two Dimensions)
Use Grid when you need to control both rows and columns simultaneously. It is layout-first.
.gallery {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(200px, 1fr));
gap: 1rem;
}
The Golden Rule: If you are building a layout structure (header, sidebar, main, footer), use Grid. If you are aligning elements inside those blocks (buttons in a header), use Flexbox.
