Block outside the column

Why it matters

A site that lines up on one grid looks calm and trustworthy. A block that starts a little further left or ends a little further right makes the page look messy, even when visitors cannot say why. On a phone, text that runs into the edge of the screen also reads badly.

How Snaglist checks it

Snaglist opens the homepage and a sample of other page types on a phone (390 pixels) and a wide screen (1440 pixels). The column of the site is the left edge of the text that comes back on almost every page, such as the header and footer. The right edge mirrors it, unless the site itself runs wider. A block outside that column is reported, unless it fills the screen, runs into the edge of the screen on purpose, or is deliberately wider in the middle. Fixed layers, sliders and hidden parts do not count.

Snaglist reports this as a notice. It costs 5 percent of the page in the health score. Good to know, and sometimes a deliberate choice.

Common causes

• A section with its own padding instead of the container of the site
• A negative margin that pulls a block outside the column
• A separately styled block in a page builder
• Cards or a grid that run the full width while the text above them does not

How to fix it

1. Look at the block Snaglist names and compare its edges with the column in the report.
2. Put it in the same container as the rest of the page, or give it the same side margin.
3. Check the page again after the next crawl.

How it shows in the report

In the report for your client this appears under the heading "Not everything lines up with your site". When everything is in order, the report says: "Everything lines up with the column of the site".