How to replicate background-attachment fixed on iOS

web-development

responsive-design

performance

css-techniques

byAlex Kataev·Jan 3, 2025

Create an illusion of background-attachment: fixed in iOS using a fixed <div> as a faux background. This <div> underlies the main content, which scrolls as per usual.

<div class="fixed-background"><!-- This is the "paint" on our digital "wall" --></div>
<div class="scrollable-content">
  <!-- Your scrollable content - your lorem, ipsums and dolors reside here -->
</div>

.fixed-background {
  position: fixed; /* The Gandalf of CSS: "You shall not (scroll)!" */
  top: 0;
  right: 0;
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  background: url('your-image.jpg') no-repeat center/cover;
  z-index: -1; /* Ensure your background doesn't think it's all foreground */
}

.scrollable-content {
  position: relative; /* Our content politely respects others' personal space */
  z-index: 1;
}

This technique keeps a full-size background image fixed on screen while content scrolls over it, mimicking background-attachment: fixed, which, like a shy unicorn, is unsupported in iOS' Safari.

Performance tuning

Always keep an eye on the performance of your webpage - especially if you’re venturing into tackling issues like this. The smoothness of scrolling, the rapidity of rendering, these all contribute to the overall user experience. Make use of developer tools to track the speed of your page, and tweak your CSS accordingly to strike that perfect equilibrium between form and functionality.

Structuring skeleton

Maintaining a well-structured HTML goes a long way in managing complex CSS scenarios. Look for opportunities to encapsulate your fixed div in a sibling or a wrapper div. It’s like the sibling who keepsits unruly little brother in check. We’re maintaining a semblance of order in the wild west of layers, floating elements, and absolutely positioned outlaws.

Convincing illusion

Our prime aim is to ensure the user believes the background is fixed. A significant aid in this mission is maintaining visual clarity. Setting background: transparent on a quotes div, for example, could work wonders. It’s like your content is wearing Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, allowing the background to shine through unimpeded.

Harness positioning

We can amplify our illusion by putting our position: relative to good use. Surround your position: fixed div with position: relative parent div. This gives us a well-maintained boundary and leverages the clipping effect to our advantage - think of it as an electronic leash on our spirited puppy of a background.

Div diplomacy

Temporal paradoxes are not only for Dr. Strange. We, too, can be masters of time and space in our digital realm. With our faithful lieutenant, position: relative, we can ensure our images hold their ground (or lack of it), while the text scrolls on like a never-ending Star Wars intro.

Code say, code do

To truly master our craft, we must learn from the artisans. Deconstruct the works of skilled developers, understand their solutions, practice their code patterns, and adapt those to our unique CSS-Quest. A wise programmer once said, "Good developers borrow, great developers steal outright."

Additional CSS techniques

Being restricted to one path is no fun! Remember, background-attachment: fixed is not the end of the road! There are numerous CSS properties and values at our disposal that can create similar, if not identical, visual effects, such as background-size: cover or background-position: fixed. So, keep exploring new ways, and who knows, you might stumble upon that secret passage yourself!

explain-codes / Web development / How to replicate background-attachment fixed on iOS

Linked

White space visible on right side of page when background image should extend full length of page



Css position absolute and full width problem



Horizontal line and the right way to code it in HTML, CSS



How to align footer (div) to the bottom of the page?



'transform3d' not working with position: fixed children

