Modals and Popups Cut Off on Small Mobile Screens
Modals, popups, and dialog boxes in your Base44 app are unusable on mobile devices. The modal content extends beyond the screen with no way to scroll, action buttons at the bottom are hidden below the viewport, and users can't complete the action the modal was designed for.
Modals are used for critical interactions in Base44 apps: editing records, confirming deletions, viewing details, and filling out forms. When they're broken on mobile, users are stuck and can't complete core workflows.
The issue is especially bad on smaller phones (iPhone SE, older Android devices) and when the device keyboard opens inside a modal form, shrinking the visible area to almost nothing.
Error Messages You Might See
Common Causes
- Fixed height exceeding viewport — Modals have a fixed height (e.g., 600px) that exceeds small phone screens (667px or less)
- No internal scrolling — Modal content doesn't scroll, so content below the fold is permanently hidden
- Centered positioning ignores viewport — CSS centering with transform places the modal partially off-screen on short viewports
- Keyboard pushes modal up — When the keyboard opens for form inputs, the modal shifts up and the top is cut off
- Padding consuming too much space — Large padding inside the modal wastes valuable screen real estate on mobile
How to Fix It
- Use max-height: 90vh with overflow-y: auto — Limit modal height to 90% of viewport and make the content scrollable
- Make modals full-screen on mobile — Below 768px, switch modals to full-screen sheets that cover the entire viewport with proper scrolling
- Stick action buttons to the bottom — Use position: sticky; bottom: 0 on the button row so it's always visible regardless of scroll position
- Reduce padding on mobile — Use smaller internal padding (12px instead of 24px) on screens below 640px
- Handle keyboard appearance — Use the Visual Viewport API to adjust modal position when the keyboard opens
Real developers can help you.
Bastien Labelle
Full stack dev w/ 20+ years of experience
Sage Fulcher
Hey I'm Sage! Im a Boston area software engineer who grew up in South Florida. Ive worked at a ton of cool places like a telehealth kidney care startup that took part in a billion dollar merger (Cricket health/Interwell health), a boutique design agency where I got to work on a ton of exciting startups including a photography education app, a collegiate Esports league and more (Philosophie), a data analytics as a service startup in Cambridge (MA) as well as at Phillips and MIT Lincoln Lab where I designed and developed novel network security visualizations and analytics. I've been writing code and furiously devoted to using computers to make people’s lives easier for about 17 years. My degree is in making computers make pretty lights and sounds. Outside of work I love hip hop, the Celtics, professional wrestling, magic the gathering, photography, drumming, and guitars (both making and playing them)
Jen Jacobsen
I’m a Full-Stack Developer with over 10 years of experience building modern web and mobile applications. I enjoy working across the full product lifecycle — turning ideas into real, well-built products that are intuitive for users and scalable for businesses.
I particularly enjoy building mobile apps, modern web platforms, and solving complex technical problems in a way that keeps systems clean, reliable, and easy to maintain.
Costea Adrian
Embedded Engineer specilizing in perception systems. Latest project was a adas camera calibration system.
Matthew Butler
Systems Development Engineer @ Amazon Web Services
Antriksh Narang
5 years+ Experienced Dev (Specially in Web Development), can help in python, javascript, react, next.js and full stack web dev technologies.
Nam Tran
10 years as fullstack developer
ISHANTDEEP SINGH
Senior Software Engineer with 7+ years of experience in React, JavaScript, TypeScript, Next.js, and Node.js. I’ve also worked as a tech lead for startups, owning end-to-end technical execution including architecture, development, scaling, and delivery. I bring a strong mix of hands-on coding, product thinking, and technical leadership, and I’m comfortable building products from scratch as well as improving and scaling existing systems.
PawelPloszaj
I'm fronted developer with 10+ years of experience with big projects. I have small backend background too
Kingsley Omage
Fullstack software engineer passionate about AI Agents, blockchain, LLMs.
You don't need to be technical. Just describe what's wrong and a verified developer will handle the rest.
Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
Why can't I see the buttons at the bottom of my Base44 modal on mobile?
The modal height exceeds the phone's screen height and the content isn't scrollable. Add max-height: 90vh and overflow-y: auto to the modal, or make buttons sticky at the bottom of the modal.
Should I use modals at all on mobile?
For simple confirmations, modals are fine. For forms with multiple fields, consider navigating to a full-page form on mobile instead of using a modal. This gives users more space and avoids keyboard issues.