An alternative to using negative margin?

Question

I am using negative margin's to place my image on the background however when i zoom to much it shifts and distorts the image to a great deal. On zooming the box on the right goes towards the top because of the negative margin.

Please find below the code i am using:-

  <div class="platform-row" style="float: right; margin-right: 145px; padding: 2px;">
            <span><a href="download/index.html">
                <img src="assets/Box.png" border="0" /></a></span><br>
            <div class="platform-row-box">
                SOME TEXT GOES HERE...................
            </div>

            <a href="download/index.html">
                <div class="getmxit">Get ABC Now</div>
            </a>
            <div style="background: black; margin-top: 3px; width: 181px; opacity: .8; padding: 2px">

                <span><a class="platform-icon apple" href="download/ios/index.html"></a></span>
                <span><a class="platform-icon android" href="download/android/index.html"></a></span>

            </div>
        </div>

CSS:

    .platform-row {
    -webkit-transform: translateZ(0);
    -moz-transform: translateZ(0);
    -ms-transform: translateZ(0);
    -o-transform: translateZ(0);
    transform: translateZ(0);
    margin-top: -530px;
    margin-left: 700px;
}

    .platform-row .platform-row-box {
        color: white;
        font-size: 14px;
        margin: 0 auto;
        width: 181px;
        opacity: .8;
        margin-top: -170px;
        position: fixed;
    }

@media screen and (max-width: 640px) {
    .platform-row {
        padding-right: 55%;
    }
}

@media screen and (max-width: 479px) {
    .platform-row {
        margin-top: 40px;
        padding-right: 35%;
    }
}

.platform-icon {
    -webkit-transition: opacity 0.2s;
    -moz-transition: opacity 0.2s;
    transition: opacity 0.2s;
    /**background-image: url("platform_icons-14a66f5cbf10a328f7b38e6070c26e62.png");**/
    background-image: url("Home_Get.png");
    display: inline-block;
    height: 25px;
    width: 25px;
    margin-right: 0px;
    opacity: 1;
}

@media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (-o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2 / 1), only screen and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and (min-resolution: 2dppx) {
    .platform-icon {
        background-image: url("platform_icons%402x-dfed2cc115fa8b344e08c9072408095a.png");
        background-size: 454px 88px;
        -webkit-background-size: 454px 88px;
    }
}

EDIT:

This is what happens when i zoom in too much because of the negative margin.

Answer 1

Disclaimer: This answer is based on what I think you're asking. For a more specific solution to your problem, please be more specific with regard to what you're trying to achieve.

It looks like you're using negative margins and padding to compensate for the fact that your image is relatively positioned (by default). To avoid breaking your layout you can achieve the same thing with one of two approaches:

Method 1 (not ideal): Move your background image outside of its current container and into the broader document context. Then position your image absolutely so that it doesn't effect the rest of your layout:

HTML
<img class="background" src="somedir/background.png">
<div class="platform-row">....</div>

CSS
.background {
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;  /* defining the top/left/bottom/right declarations are important! */
    left: 0;
    /* bottom: 0; apply these two if you want your image to stretch and fill the entire viewport */
       /*right: 0; */
    height: 100%;
    width: auto;
}

Method 2 (better): Just apply the background image as a background to the body (or preferably a max height/width wrapper).

HTML
<div class="page-wrapper">
    <div class="platform-row">....</div>
    <!-- other page content -->
</div> <!-- end of page-wrapper -->



CSS
.page-wrapper {
    background: transparent url('/images/background.png') 0 0 no-repeat;
    /* fix the image in place (not supported in older browsers) */
    background-position: fixed;
}

Also, instead of using margins to position your .platform-row-box, you can simply use the position: fixed style (which you've already defined), but you'll need to define the top/right/bottom/left values.

.platform-row-box {
    position: fixed;
    top: 40px;
    right: 20%;
}