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For box panels like that I'll usually give a generous gap with deep grooves on the long sides if there is room. For a box of that width, I'd probably do an extra 1/8" on each side.
Nothing is ever perfectly square so build in some allowance for skewing.
For the glue up, you did the right thing, glue only in the center of the cross grain joints.
Being generally paranoid and hating the over-thinking aspect of "will it hold" after assembly, I'll usually center and glue the panel end into one of the sides, then dry fit the rest to hold the alignment while that glue spot dries. After that, if the panel is square the rest of the assembly should go well. You can also draw small pencil lines on the panels ends and centers of the box ends so you have a visual confirmation of being centered when clamping.
Of course, if you are going to spline the corners for strength, the panel can be installed without any glue and left fully floating
The key is something to hold the panel centered for assembly. You could also run a small pin through the bottom to hold the panel centered and do the glue up in a single go.
Nothing is ever perfectly square so build in some allowance for skewing.
For the glue up, you did the right thing, glue only in the center of the cross grain joints.
Being generally paranoid and hating the over-thinking aspect of "will it hold" after assembly, I'll usually center and glue the panel end into one of the sides, then dry fit the rest to hold the alignment while that glue spot dries. After that, if the panel is square the rest of the assembly should go well. You can also draw small pencil lines on the panels ends and centers of the box ends so you have a visual confirmation of being centered when clamping.
Of course, if you are going to spline the corners for strength, the panel can be installed without any glue and left fully floating
The key is something to hold the panel centered for assembly. You could also run a small pin through the bottom to hold the panel centered and do the glue up in a single go.
