Fixing Table Column Shift in Expandable Rows: Tailwind CSS vs Pure CSS

Tables are often the backbone of displaying structured data in dashboards, admin panels, and product listings. However, when you introduce interactive elements like expandable content in a table row, subtle layout bugs can creep in. One particularly frustrating issue is column shifting when you expand content in one of the cells.

In this article, we’ll explore a real-world example from a React + Tailwind CSS project where we had to solve this problem. We’ll compare Tailwind approaches with vanilla CSS to see what works best.

The Problem

Imagine a product listing table where the “Product Name” column shows a shortened version of the title by default, and clicking a + button expands it to reveal the full title. Here’s the simplified cell rendering logic:

<td>
  {expanded ? productName : productName.slice(0, 40) + '...'}
  <button onClick={toggle}>+</button>
</td>

Once you click the +, the expanded content causes that column to grow in width, pushing the rest of the table out of alignment.

Why This Happens

By default, HTML tables adjust their layout dynamically based on content. When one cell’s content expands, it can trigger reflows that affect all rows.

Symptoms:

• Rows misalign when expanded
• Columns shift horizontally
• Table widths grow beyond container

Tailwind CSS Fixes (Attempted)

We attempted the following Tailwind-based fixes:

1. table-fixed on <table>

<table className="table-fixed w-full">

This applies table-layout: fixed, forcing the table to distribute column widths based on the first row. Helps reduce shifting, but…

Still allows overflow if content is long and not wrapped properly.

2. Adding w-96, w-full, or custom widths to <td>

<td className="w-96">Product Name</td>

Setting fixed widths to columns can prevent expansion but leads to truncation or inconsistent widths across screen sizes.

3. Using overflow-hidden, text-ellipsis, whitespace-nowrap

<div className="overflow-hidden text-ellipsis whitespace-nowrap">...</div>

These help keep the layout fixed but defeat the purpose of expansion.

4. Wrapping table in a div with overflow-x-auto

This helps prevent horizontal scroll but doesn’t solve the core shifting issue.

The Working Solution: A Hybrid CSS Approach

Ultimately, we stabilized the table using a mix of Tailwind and raw CSS.

1. Lock the Table Layout

<table className="table-fixed w-full" style={{ tableLayout: 'fixed' }}>

2. Assign Min/Max Width to the Expanding Column

<td style={{ minWidth: '300px', maxWidth: '300px' }}>

This keeps the column width stable, even when content expands vertically.

3. Force Vertical Expansion Only

Use:

overflow-wrap: break-word;
word-break: break-word;
white-space: normal;

To allow text to wrap within the fixed width, increasing cell height but not width.

Final JSX Example:

<td
  style={{ minWidth: '300px', maxWidth: '300px', whiteSpace: 'normal', wordBreak: 'break-word' }}
  className="px-4 py-3 align-top"
>
  <span>{expanded ? productName : productName.slice(0, 40) + '...'}</span>
  {productName.length > 40 && (
    <button onClick={() => toggle(idx)} className="ml-2 text-blue-600">+</button>
  )}
</td>

Bonus: Use text-xs or text-[10px] to Shrink Font

<table className="text-xs">

Tailwind’s text-xs or text-[10px] (arbitrary values) help cram more data into a tight space.

Final Thoughts

Interactive tables are powerful but tricky. Tailwind CSS provides many utilities, but in layout-sensitive scenarios like this, you often need to fall back to classic CSS rules to achieve pixel-perfect stability.

Don’t hesitate to combine utility classes with inline styles or global CSS when necessary. Flexibility is power.