How to Use grid-row-align and grid-column-align in CSS Grid

CSS Grid Layout has revolutionized modern web design by making complex layouts more manageable and responsive. While properties like grid-template-rows and grid-template-columns are commonly used, developers sometimes come across properties like grid-row-align and grid-column-align.

In this blog post, we’ll explore whether these properties are valid, what you’re actually looking for, and how to achieve alignment in CSS Grid properly.

Table of Contents

🧠 Quick Clarification: `grid-row-align` and `grid-column-align` Are Not Standard CSS Properties

First, let’s clear up a common misconception:

🚫 grid-row-align and grid-column-align are not official or valid CSS properties.

If you’ve encountered these in code or documentation, it’s likely a mistake or confusion with the actual alignment properties used in CSS Grid.

So, what should you be using instead?

✅ The Correct Grid Alignment Properties

To align grid items along rows and columns, CSS Grid provides these standard properties:

1. `justify-items` / `justify-self`

Used to align items horizontally (along the row axis).

2. `align-items` / `align-self`

Used to align items vertically (along the column axis).

3. `place-items` and `place-self`

Shorthand for align-* and justify-* combinations.

🔧 Examples: Proper Alignment in CSS Grid

HTML

<div class="grid-container">
  <div class="grid-item">Item 1</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Item 2</div>
  <div class="grid-item">Item 3</div>
</div>

CSS

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  grid-template-rows: 150px;
  
  /* Align all items */
  justify-items: start;  /* Align horizontally to the left */
  align-items: center;   /* Align vertically to the center */
}

.grid-item {
  background-color: #dfefff;
  padding: 1rem;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
}

Explanation

justify-items: start; aligns the content of each grid cell to the left.
align-items: center; vertically centers the content within each row.

If you want to align just one item, use justify-self and align-self on that item:

.grid-item:nth-child(2) {
  justify-self: end;   /* Align to the right */
  align-self: start;   /* Align to the top */
}

🧩 Shorthand: `place-items` and `place-self`

Instead of writing:

align-items: center;
justify-items: start;

You can write:

place-items: center start;

Or for a single item:

.grid-item {
  place-self: end center;
}

❓ So Where Did `grid-row-align` Come From?

It might be:

A non-standard extension or typo
Misunderstood from older specs
Confused with align-self or align-items

Always refer to MDN Web Docs or the official W3C specification for up-to-date and accurate property references.

✅ Summary

Desired Effect	Use This Property
Align all items horizontally	`justify-items`
Align all items vertically	`align-items`
Align one item horizontally	`justify-self`
Align one item vertically	`align-self`
Combine both directions	`place-items`, `place-self`

💬 Final Thoughts

While grid-row-align and grid-column-align might look plausible, they’re not valid CSS. Instead, master the real alignment tools in CSS Grid: align-*, justify-*, and place-*.

With these, you can build precise, responsive layouts with ease and confidence.

🧠 Quick Clarification: grid-row-align and grid-column-align Are Not Standard CSS Properties

✅ The Correct Grid Alignment Properties

1. justify-items / justify-self

2. align-items / align-self

3. place-items and place-self