> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.laposta.org/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.laposta.org/_mcp/server.

# Placing blocks side by side in columns

> With the columns block, you can place two, three, or four blocks side by side and set the width and formatting for each column.

By default, blocks in the drag & drop editor are stacked vertically. Using a columns block, you can place them side by side. This allows you to drag a different [content block](/welke-inhoudsblokken-kan-ik-gebruiken-in-de-drag-drop-editor) into each column.

## Adding a columns block

Click on the outside of your newsletter and drag the ‘Columns’ block to the desired position. You can then drag other blocks into the columns, such as ‘Text’, ‘Image’, ‘Video’, ‘Header’, and ‘Divider’.

## Setting two, three, or four columns

#### Select the columns block

Click on the columns block in your newsletter. A green border will appear around the block.

#### Open the settings

Click on the cog icon on the left side of the green border. The ‘Columns’ tab will open on the left side of the screen.

#### Choose the number of columns

Go to Columns → Settings and select two, three, or four under ‘Number of columns’.

![The Settings tab with the Number of columns field, next to a two-column block in the newsletter](file:assets/images/schermen-en/b17-10--aantal-kolommen.png)

## Formatting individual columns

Under Columns → Design, you can configure the formatting for desktop and mobile. You always start with the desktop display:

* Under ‘Box’, you set the background colour and margins for the entire block and for the individual columns. At the top, under ‘All columns’, you can format all columns at once. Below that, you can configure this per column, from ‘First column’ through to the last.
* Under ‘Container’, you adjust the colour and margins for the outside of the block.

## Adjusting the width of a column

In your newsletter, hover your mouse over the column divider and drag the green line to the left or right.

![The column divider between two columns, with the double arrow used to drag the width](file:assets/images/schermen-en/b17-10-sleep.png)

> **Note**
>
> You cannot completely fix the height of columns. This is because different email clients take up slightly more or less space when displaying text.

## Adjusting the display on mobile phones

On a mobile phone, columns are stacked vertically by default. For example, if you have an image block in the left column and a text block in the right column, the phone will first display the image across the full width and the text block below it, also across the full width.

You can adjust this via Columns → Design under the phone icon:

* Tick ‘Do not stack, show like on desktop’ to keep the column layout on mobile.
* Tick ‘Hide this block on mobile’ to not show the columns block on mobile at all.

## Moving, copying, or deleting a columns block

Click inside the columns block to show the green border. It contains the following icons, among others:

* Arrow: move the entire columns block up or down.
* Cog: open the block settings.
* Double square: copy the columns block.
* Cross: delete the entire columns block.

> **Warning**
>
> If you delete the columns block using the cross icon, all blocks inside the columns will also be deleted.

The icons in the grey bars belong to the individual block inside the column. You can use these to move, copy, or delete only that specific content block, rather than the columns block itself.

## Making an image smaller using a columns block

An image in the ‘Image’ block always fills the full width. If you want to display an image smaller, place it in the narrow middle column of a columns block:

#### Add a columns block

Drag the ‘Columns’ block into your newsletter and set it to three columns.

#### Place the image in the middle column

Drag an ‘Image’ block into the middle column.

#### Make the middle column narrower

Select the columns block and drag the column dividers to make the middle column narrower than the left and right columns.

#### Optional: set margins

In the image formatting settings, set extra margins for even more white space around the image.

## Related articles

#### [Which blocks are available in the editor?](/welke-inhoudsblokken-kan-ik-gebruiken-in-de-drag-drop-editor)

Overview of the eleven blocks you use to build a campaign or template, and what you can…

#### [Why is it better not to put a table in your newsletter?](/ik-heb-een-tabel-geplaatst-die-niet-goed-wordt-getoond-hoe-kan-ik-dit-oplossen)

Create a schedule or overview using a list or the Columns block, so your newsletter…

#### [Building your newsletter in the editor](/hoe-maak-ik-een-goede-nieuwsbrief-in-de-drag-drop-editor)

Determine the structure using blocks, configure your global design, and adjust the…

#### [Filling in your template in step 4](/stap-4-vul-het-sjabloon)

Create your newsletter using blocks for text and images, apply your global design and…