Most enterprise applications start with a simple layout. Over time, features get added, panels multiply, and scrolling behavior becomes inconsistent and hard to reason about.

This pattern demonstrates a basic but intentional layout structure with a header, sidebar, and a single, well-defined scrollable content area.

The goal isn’t visual polish — it’s establishing clear layout and scroll boundaries early, so the interface doesn’t collapse under its own complexity later.

Subtle but important

• Explicit scroll ownership Only the primary content area scrolls. This avoids competing scroll regions and makes it clear where users should focus.

• Full-height layout by default The layout always fills the viewport height. This ensures consistent scroll behavior, predictable panel sizing, and prevents content from collapsing or reflowing as pages change.

• Stable layout regions The header and sidebar remain structurally fixed, reducing layout shifts as content changes.

• Predictable composition Content panels stack and expand within a known container, preventing ad hoc overflow and layout hacks as features evolve.

• Responsive by structure, not breakpoints The layout adapts by rearranging regions, not by layering conditional styles on top of an unstable foundation.