Position pseudo elements in CSS Grid

Question

Position pseudo elements in CSS Grid

2.3k Views Asked by Sebastian At 04 April 2025 at 19:05

I'm trying to position pseudo-elements, as should be possible according to the specification, on a grid. This works great for my outer layout which I have set on the <body>, but it doesn't work for the <header> which itself is a grid.

How can I position the header nav:after element in the right column of the grid? Why doesn't it work in my example?

I appreciate any help! Here is the code:

body {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 800px 1fr;
}
header {
  grid-column: 1 / 4;
  grid-row: 1;

  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 800px 1fr;
}

/* Works great */
header:before {
  content: 'Left';
  grid-column: 1 / 2;
}

/* Doesn't work, treated as a child element */
header nav:after {
  content: 'Right';
  grid-column: 3 / 4;
}
header nav {
  grid-column: 2 / 3;
}

<body>
  <header>
    <nav>
    <ul>
      <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
      <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
      <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
    </ul>
    </nav>
  </header>
</body>

Thank you!

Original Q&A

There are 2 best solutions below

Michael Benjamin On 05 September 2017 at 12:05

Pseudo elements in a grid container are considered children of the container. References:

Therefore, unless a pseudo-element is absolutely positioned, it is a grid item. Reference:

https://www.w3.org/TR/css3-grid-layout/#static-position

Here's a demonstration based on your code:

body {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 300px 1fr;
  text-align: center;
  border: 1px solid black;
}

body::before {
  content: "pseudo - \a left sibling \a of header";
  white-space: pre;
  grid-column: 1 / 2;
  background-color: salmon;
}

body::after {
  content: "pseudo - \a right sibling \a of header";
  white-space: pre;
  grid-column: 3 / 4;
  background-color: lightgreen;
}

header {
  grid-column: 2 / 3;
  background-color: yellow;
  padding: 5px;
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 100px 1fr;
  grid-gap: 5px;
}

header nav {
  grid-column: 2 / 3;
  border: 1px dashed red;
}

header::before {
  content: "pseudo - \a left sibling \a of nav";
  white-space: pre;
  grid-column: 1 / 2;
  border: 1px dashed red;
}

header::after {
  content: "pseudo - \a right sibling \a of nav";
  white-space: pre;
  grid-column: 3 / 4;
  border: 1px dashed red;
}

<body>
  <header>
    <nav>
      <ul>
        <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
        <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
        <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
  </header>
</body>

**kukkuz** · Accepted Answer

nav:after is a child element of nav. So make your nav a grid too - its not at the moment.

Or you can use header:after instead of nav:after- see demo below:

body {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 800px 1fr;
}

header {
  grid-column: 1 / 4;
  grid-row: 1;
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 800px 1fr;
}


/* Works great */

header:before {
  content: 'Left';
  grid-column: 1 / 2;
}


/* CHANGED THIS*/

header:after {
  content: 'Right';
  grid-column: 3 / 4;
}

header nav {
  grid-column: 2 / 3;
}

<header>
  <nav>
    <ul>
      <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
      <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
      <li><a href='#'>Link</a></li>
    </ul>
  </nav>
</header>

Position pseudo elements in CSS Grid

There are 2 best solutions below

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