Extend div to bottom of page (only HTML and CSS)

Question

Its a very simple problem but I can\'t seem to find a suitable solution online. I want to have a list of elements in natural flow with the last element extended to the botto

Answer 1

Set the height of html, body to 100%. Then, you can set the last <div>'s height to 100% and it will be as tall as the window. Since you probably don't want scrolling, you can set overflow: hidden on the html, body as well.

http://jsfiddle.net/GKbzx/

Answer 2

Solution: #1: css tables:

html, body {
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
}
body {
  display: table;
  margin: 0;
}
#top, #bottom {
  width: 100%;
  background: yellow;
  display: table-row;
}
#top {
  height: 50px;
}
#bottom {
  background: lightgrey;
  height: 100%;
}

html, body {
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
}
body {
  display: table;
  margin: 0;
}
#top, #bottom {
  width: 100%;
  background: yellow;
  display: table-row;
}
#top {
  height: 50px;
}
#bottom {
  background: lightgrey;
  height: 100%;
}

<div id="top" style="height:50px;"><span>A header</span></div>
<div id="bottom" style="background:lightgrey;"><span>The content area - extends to the bottom of the page</span></div>

Codepen #1 (little content)

Codepen #2 (lots of content)

Solution #2: Using calc and viewport units

#top {
  height: 50px;
  background: yellow;
}
#bottom {
  background: lightgrey;
  min-height: calc(100vh - 50px);
}

body {
  margin: 0;
}
#top {
  height: 50px;
  background: yellow;
}
#bottom {
  background: lightgrey;
  min-height: calc(100vh - 50px);
}

Where `min-height: calc(100vh - 50px);` means:

'Let the height of the content div be **at least** 100% of the viewport height minus the 50px height of the header.'

<div id="top" style="height:50px;"><span>A header</span></div>
<div id="bottom" style="background:lightgrey;"><span>The content area - extends to the bottom of the page</span></div>

Codepen #1 (little content)

Codepen #2 (lots of content)

Solution #3 - Flexbox

body {
  margin: 0;
  min-height: 100vh;
}
body {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}
#top {
  height: 50px;
  background: yellow;
}
#bottom {
  background: lightgrey;
  flex: 1;
}

body {
  margin: 0;
  min-height: 100vh;
}
body {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}
#top {
  height: 50px;
  background: yellow;
}
#bottom {
  background: lightgrey;
  flex: 1;
}

<div id="top" style="height:50px;"><span>A header</span></div>
<div id="bottom" style="background:lightgrey;"><span>The content area - extends to the bottom of the page</span></div>

Codepen #1 - little content

Codepen #2 - lots of content