How do I make a newline after a twitter bootstrap element?

Question

I apologize because this seems like such a simple thing.

What's the correct way to insert a newline in a way that the next element is on a newline? It seems like some things automatically do this (such as <p> within `) but I'm seeing behavior where the next element can appear right next to the last element.

HTML:

<ul class="nav nav-tabs span2">
    <li><a href="./index.html"><i class="icon-black icon-music"></i></a></li>
    <li><a href="./about.html"><i class="icon-black icon-eye-open"></i></a></li>
    <li><a href="./team.html"><i class="icon-black icon-user"></i></a></li>
    <li><a href="./contact.html"><i class="icon-black icon-envelope"></i></a></li>
</ul>
<BR /> <!-- It seems dumb to need this!  Is this really how -->
<BR /> <!-- to get a newline? -->
<BR /> <!-- Well, it's what -->
<BR /> <!-- I'm doing now, I suppose... -->
<BR />

<div class="well span6">
    <h3>I wish this appeared on the next line without having to gratuitously use BR!</h3>
</div>

What is the correct or elegant way to handle newlines after things like ul or div? Am I overlooking a general setup of the code that handles this?

Answer 1

You're using span6 and span2. Both of these classes are "float:left" meaning, if possible they will always try to sit next to each other. Twitter bootstrap is based on a 12 grid system. So you should generally always get the span**#** to add up to 12.

E.g.: span4 + span4 + span4 OR span6 + span6 OR span4 + span3 + span5.

To force a span down though, without listening to the previous float you can use twitter bootstraps clearfix class. To do this, your code should look like this:

<ul class="nav nav-tabs span2">
  <li><a href="./index.html"><i class="icon-black icon-music"></i></a></li>
  <li><a href="./about.html"><i class="icon-black icon-eye-open"></i></a></li>
  <li><a href="./team.html"><i class="icon-black icon-user"></i></a></li>
  <li><a href="./contact.html"><i class="icon-black icon-envelope"></i></a></li>
</ul>
<!-- Notice this following line -->
<div class="clearfix"></div>
<div class="well span6">
  <h3>I wish this appeared on the next line without having to gratuitously use BR!</h3>
</div>