New in 4.0
Fast and accessible by default.
Essential Grid 4.0 brings a new front end. New grids are in place from the first paint, images are real images, and every control works with a keyboard and a screen reader.
A lean front end. Only what a grid needs.
New grids arrive from the server in their final layout. New 4.0 grids load no jQuery; classic grids keep theirs. Scripts add filters, pages, the lightbox, video and motion only where a grid uses them.
- No layout shift. The server renders the grid as a CSS grid, every item in place from the first paint.
- Real images. Each image is an img with srcset, sizes, width, height and alt text, lazy-loaded natively; the first row loads first.
- Only what a grid needs. Filters, pages, the lightbox, video and motion are separate modules, loaded only when the grid uses them.
- Columns follow the container. New grids count columns from the space they have, not from the window.
- Cache-friendly. One HTML for every device and no security tokens in cached pages; load more and search are plain requests.
- core
- layout
- filter
- not loaded: lightbox
- not loaded: video
- not loaded: motion
Drag the width: the columns follow the box, not the window. A sketch of the 4.0 behaviour.
Built for keyboards and screen readers.
WCAG 2.1 AA is the standard for new grids in 4.0, checked with automated accessibility tests in our test suite. It matters: the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 2025.
- Real buttons. Filters, sort, pages and load more are buttons that say whether they are pressed or current.
- Results announced. After a filter or a search, screen readers hear what changed.
- Overlays by keyboard. Card overlays open on focus as well as on hover, so every link in them can be reached.
- Named icons. Icon links tell screen readers where they go.
- A new lightbox. A dialog with a label, a focus trap and the focus back where it was when it closes.
- Reduced motion. Every effect becomes an instant change for visitors who ask for less motion.
Use the buttons with a mouse or the keyboard. A sketch of how 4.0 announces results.
Browsers
Chrome and Edge 111+, Firefox 115+ and Safari 16.4+, the evergreen browsers of the last two years. Older browsers still show every item with working links, without filters or motion.
Nothing breaks
Both front ends ship side by side. New grids start on the new one; grids made before 4.0 stay on the classic one until you switch them, each with a preview first. Nothing switches automatically.
Upgrade pathsVideo on demand
Videos in a grid load nothing from YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia or SoundCloud until a visitor plays them, by a click, on hover or with the keyboard.
More of what Essential Grid does
- Layouts
- Motion
- Filters and search
- Skin editor
- Sources
- Performance and accessibilityYou are here
- Integrations
- 4.0What’s new in 4.0
Make every list worth a look.
Pick an example, import it in one click and make it yours.