Build a Draggable and Sortable Grid with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Introduction

16th December 2024

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Have you ever wondered how draggable and sortable grids work in modern web applications? They’re not just interactive and visually appealing but also a great way to organize content dynamically. In this tutorial, we’ll build a draggable and sortable grid layout using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—no libraries required!

This project is perfect for improving your drag-and-drop functionality skills while creating something practical and fun.

What You Will Learn:

How to create a responsive grid layout using CSS.
Make elements draggable with JavaScript.
How to handle drag-and-drop events to reorder grid items.

Video Tutorial:

HTML

We start by defining a grid container and its draggable items. Each item includes an image and a label.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Draggable & Sortable Grid</title>
    <!-- Google Font -->
    <link
      href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Poppins:wght@500&display=swap"
      rel="stylesheet"
    />
    <!-- Stylesheet-->
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" />
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="grid-container" id="sortableGrid">
      <div class="grid-item" draggable="true" id="item1">
        <img src="draggable images-01.png" alt="Item 1" />
        <p>Item 1</p>
      </div>
      <div class="grid-item" draggable="true" id="item2">
        <img src="draggable images-02.png" alt="Item 2" />
        <p>Item 2</p>
      </div>
      <div class="grid-item" draggable="true" id="item3">
        <img src="draggable images-03.png" alt="Item 3" />
        <p>Item 3</p>
      </div>
      <div class="grid-item" draggable="true" id="item4">
        <img src="draggable images-04.png" alt="Item 4" />
        <p>Item 4</p>
      </div>
      <div class="grid-item" draggable="true" id="item5">
        <img src="draggable images-05.png" alt="Item 5" />
        <p>Item 5</p>
      </div>
      <div class="grid-item" draggable="true" id="item6">
        <img src="draggable images-06.png" alt="Item 6" />
        <p>Item 6</p>
      </div>
    </div>

    <script src="script.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

CSS

Here’s the CSS to create a responsive grid layout and add some hover and transition effects for each grid item.

body {
  font-family: "Poppins", sans-serif;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 20px;
  background-color: #f4f4f9;
}

.grid-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(200px, 1fr));
  gap: 20px;
}

.grid-item {
  background-color: #ffffff;
  border: 2px solid #dddddd;
  border-radius: 8px;
  padding: 20px;
  text-align: center;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
  cursor: move;
  transition: all 0.3s ease;
}

.grid-item:hover {
  box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
}

.grid-item img {
  max-width: 100%;
  border-radius: 8px;
}

Key CSS Features:

Grid Layout:
- The grid-template-columns property ensures the layout is responsive and adapts to the screen size.
Hover Effects:
- Adding a shadow on hover enhances the user experience.
Cursor Style:
- Since the cursor: move property gives a visual cue that items can be dragged.

JavaScript

The JavaScript enables the drag-and-drop functionality, allowing users to reorder items within the grid.

const gridContainer = document.getElementById("sortableGrid");
let draggedItem = null;

// Handle Drag Start
gridContainer.addEventListener("dragstart", (e) => {
  draggedItem = e.target;
  e.target.style.opacity = "0.5";
});

// Handle Drag End
gridContainer.addEventListener("dragend", (e) => {
  e.target.style.opacity = "1";
  draggedItem = null;
});

// Handle Dragging Over Grid Items
gridContainer.addEventListener("dragover", (e) => {
  e.preventDefault();
});

// Handle Drop
gridContainer.addEventListener("drop", (e) => {
  e.preventDefault();
  const targetItem = e.target;

  if (
    targetItem &&
    targetItem !== draggedItem &&
    targetItem.classList.contains("grid-item")
  ) {
    const draggedIndex = [...gridContainer.children].indexOf(draggedItem);
    const targetIndex = [...gridContainer.children].indexOf(targetItem);
    if (draggedIndex < targetIndex) {
      gridContainer.insertBefore(draggedItem, targetItem.nextSibling);
    } else {
      gridContainer.insertBefore(draggedItem, targetItem);
    }
  }
});

How It Works:

Drag Events:
- The dragstart and dragend events are used to capture the item being dragged and apply a visual effect.
Drop Target Validation:
- The drop event checks that the target is another grid item and not the dragged item itself.
Reordering Items:
- Using insertBefore(), the dragged item is inserted before or after the target item based on their positions in the grid.

How It All Fits Together

Responsive Design:
- The grid adjusts automatically based on the screen size, thanks to CSS grid.
Drag-and-Drop Interaction:
- JavaScript enables users to move items within the grid dynamically.
Enhanced User Experience:
- Hover effects and smooth transitions make the interface intuitive and visually appealing.
  
  Conclusion
  
  Therefore creating a draggable and sortable grid is easier than you think! With a mix of CSS and JavaScript, you can build interactive layouts that enhance user engagement and functionality.
  
  Try it out and let your creativity flow! For more such tutorials, check out my other posts on draggable elements, animations, and dynamic layouts.

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