Enhancing Scroll Experience with CSS "scrollbar-gutter"

Luca PagliaroLuca Pagliaro
2 min read

Have you ever been bothered by those disruptive jolts when scrolling, especially while opening a modal?

Fear not! Enter the CSS property scrollbar-gutter—a clever solution to mitigate these unwarranted movements triggered by the appearance or disappearance of the scrollbar.

Setting it to "stable" works wonders. The scrollbar space gets cleverly filled, creating an illusion of additional padding on the element. The result? A much smoother and visually appealing user experience.

Now, let's delve into a few use cases where scrollbar-gutter can be a real hero:

1. Modal Magic

Imagine a sleek modal gracefully sliding into view without causing a single hiccup in your scrolling journey. With scrollbar-gutter, you can ensure a seamless transition that doesn't disrupt the overall flow.

2. Dynamic Content Loading

In scenarios where your content dynamically expands or contracts, maintaining the stability of your scrollbar space becomes crucial. scrollbar-gutter ensures a consistent and glitch-free visual experience.

3. Responsive Navigation

For responsive web designs that toggle navigation visibility, scrollbar-gutter proves invaluable. Keep your navigation smooth and polished, irrespective of whether the scrollbar is present or not.


It's important to note that while scrollbar-gutter is widely supported across all major browsers, Safari dances to its own beat. However, fear not, for Safari's scrollbar behaves differently compared to its counterparts, maintaining a unique charm.

In a digital landscape where user experience reigns supreme, consider scrollbar-gutter as a valuable addition to your toolkit. Elevate your web applications and delight users with a scrolling experience that's as smooth as it gets.

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Written by

Luca Pagliaro
Luca Pagliaro

A passionate web developer with a focus for continuous growth & delivering exceptional results.