How do I make a full-width `iframe` with fixed aspect ratio?

I wanted to embed a YouTube <iframe> in a webpage. I wanted it to be full-width (that is, width: 100%), but keep the normal YouTube aspect ratio. I wanted it to behave like an <img>, where the image file contains its fixed aspect ratio, which the browser uses to lay out the image appropriately.

Unlike <img>s, <iframe>s don’t have a fixed aspect ratio, because <iframe>s embed web pages, which don’t have fixed/known aspect ratios. But for the particular case of YouTube videos, there is a fixed aspect ratio we want: the standard <iframe> has width="560" height="315", which simplifies to a 16:9 aspect ratio. Can we tell the browser to display an <iframe> at width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 16:9;?

There is no aspect-ratio property, but we can do this with CSS. The 16:9 aspect ratio corresponds to a height which is 56.25% of the width. To make a CSS box which is 56.25% of its own width, we can use the padding-top property with a percentage. The percentage is proportional to the width of the parent element, so first, we create a parent element to define the width, then insert a child element to define the height. Like this:

<div><div style="padding-top: 56.25%;background-color: yellow;"></div></div>

Next, we put the <iframe> inside this box, making it fill the whole box. To size the <iframe>, we ignore the width="560" height="315" element properties, and instead use the CSS properties width:100%;height:100%;.

<div>
  <div style="padding-top:56.25%;background-color: yellow;">
    <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nckseQJ1Nlg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen
      style="width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe>
  </div>
</div>

Oh no, that’s not right at all! The <iframe> is not the right height, and it’s not positioned correctly. We can fix these with the position attribute:

<div>
  <div style="position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;">
    <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nckseQJ1Nlg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen
      style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe>
  </div>
</div>

That’s it: a full-width <iframe> with fixed aspect ratio. Enjoy.

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👋 I'm Jim, a full-stack product engineer. Want to build an amazing product and a profitable business? Read more about me or Get in touch!

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