Building a website that looks great on all devices is essential, but writing the CSS for it can be repetitive. Our free CSS Media Query & Breakpoint Generator simplifies responsive design by allowing you to visually test screen widths and instantly generate the correct mobile-first CSS code, saving you time and effort.

How to Use the Media Query Generator

This tool is designed to be interactive and intuitive. Follow these simple steps:

1. On Desktop: Click and drag the bottom-right corner of the blue-dashed preview box to simulate different screen sizes.
2. On Mobile: Use the "Phone", "Tablet", and "Desktop" buttons to instantly resize the preview box to common device widths.
3. Watch the width indicator to find the exact pixel width where your design should change.
4. Enter your desired widths (breakpoints) into the "Enter Breakpoints" field, separated by commas.
5. The CSS code in the text area below will automatically update with the correct mobile-first media queries.
6. Click the Copy button to grab the code for your project.

Example Generated CSS

If you enter the common breakpoints used by frameworks like Bootstrap (576, 768, 992, 1200), the tool will generate the following CSS structure for you:

/* --- Mobile First Media Queries --- */
/* Common styles for all screen sizes go here */

/* Styles for devices 576px and up */
@media (min-width: 576px) {
  /* Your styles here... */
}

/* Styles for devices 768px and up */
@media (min-width: 768px) {
  /* Your styles here... */
}

/* Styles for devices 992px and up */
@media (min-width: 992px) {
  /* Your styles here... */
}

/* Styles for devices 1200px and up */
@media (min-width: 1200px) {
  /* Your styles here... */
}

What Are CSS Media Queries and Breakpoints?

CSS Media Queries are a cornerstone of modern responsive web design. They allow you to apply different CSS rules based on the characteristics of the device viewing the page, most commonly the screen width. A breakpoint is the specific screen width at which a media query is triggered, causing your website's layout to change or "break" into a new configuration.

This tool generates code using a mobile-first approach. This means that the base CSS styles apply to the smallest mobile screens, and you then use media queries with min-width to add or override styles for progressively larger screens. This is considered a best practice for several reasons:

• Improved Performance: Mobile devices load a simpler, baseline version of the CSS without having to process complex desktop styles first.
• Cleaner Code: It encourages a more organized and additive approach to styling, reducing the need to undo styles at larger sizes.
• Better User Experience: It forces you to prioritize the most important content and functionality for the smallest screens first.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is the difference between `min-width` and `max-width`?

min-width applies styles when the viewport is wider than or equal to the specified value. It's used for mobile-first design, where you add complexity as the screen gets bigger. max-width applies styles when the viewport is narrower than or equal to the value. It's used for "desktop-first" design, where you start with desktop styles and simplify them for smaller screens.

Q2: What are the best breakpoints to use?

There is no single "correct" set of breakpoints; it depends on your specific design. However, common starting points are often based on popular device sizes. The default values in our tool (576px, 768px, 992px, 1200px) are based on the popular Bootstrap framework and are an excellent foundation for most projects.

Q3: Can I generate "desktop-first" queries?

This tool is optimized for the mobile-first approach using `min-width`, which is the current industry best practice. However, you can easily adapt the generated code for a desktop-first workflow by changing `min-width` to `max-width` in your CSS file and reversing the order of the breakpoints (from largest to smallest).