How to make an empty div take space

Answer 1

A simple solution for empty floated divs is to add:

• width (or min-width)
• min-height

this way you can keep the float functionality and force it to fill space when empty.

I use this technique in page layout columns, to keep every column in its position even if the other columns are empty.

Example:

.left-column
{
   width: 200px;
   min-height: 1px;
   float: left;
}

.right-column
{
    width: 500px;
    min-height: 1px;
    float: left;
}