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Why CSS is Evolving Day By Day? How Does it Works? Know it's Types, Applications, Advantages Tips and Tricks + Much More...?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It describes how Html elements should be displayed on the screen. It is a powerful tool for web designers to change the design and control over web pages that how they should be displayed. It is supported by all browsers and is designed primarily to separate the document content from the document presentation.
Keywords
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), CSS, Framework, Syntax, Attributes
Learning Outcomes
After undergoing this article you will be able to understand the following:
1. What's exactly CSS?
2. Why it is so important?
3. What are the features of CSS?
4. How many properties and values are there in CSS?
5. How many types of CSS are there?
6. Where CSS has extensive applications?
7. What are its advantages?
8. What are its disadvantages?
9. Tips and Tricks to use CSS?
10. Conclusions
11. FAQs
References
1. What's exactly CSS?
CSS is the acronym of “Cascading Style Sheets”. CSS is a computer language for laying out and structuring web pages (HTML or XML). This language contains coding elements and is composed of these “cascading style sheets” which are equally called CSS files (.
It was developed by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) in 1996. The term cascading in CSS implies the fact that you can apply multiple style sheets to a single web page. The extension used to save CSS files is ".css".
Cascading Style Sheet language comes through and specifies your document’s style — page layouts, colors, and fonts (shoutout to font-family and font-style!) are all determined with CSS syntax, meaning that CSS is one important language for you to master in terms of styling your web pages!
2. Why CSS is so important?
CSS is a highly effective tool HTML that provides easy control over layout and presentation of website pages by separating content from design.
Although CSS was introduced in 1996, it gained mainstream popularity by the early 2000s when popular browsers started supporting its advanced features. The latest version, CSS3, has been available since 1998 and was last updated in September 2008.
CSS is the coding language that gives a website its look and layout. Along with HTML, CSS is fundamental to web design. Without it, websites would still be plain text on white backgrounds.
CSS 3 brings style to your web pages by interacting with HTML elements using syntax. Elements are the individual HTML components of a web page — for instance a paragraph — which in HTML might look like this:
<p>This is my paragraph!</p>
If you wanted to make this paragraph appear pink and bold to people viewing your web page through a web browser, you’d use CSS code that looks like this:
p { color:pink; font-weight:bold; }
In this case, “p” (the paragraph) is called the “selector” — it’s the part of Cascading Style Sheets code specifying which HTML element the CSS styling will affect. In CSS, the selector is written to the left of the first curly bracket. The information between curly brackets is called a declaration, and it contains properties and values that are applied to the selector.
Properties are things like font size, color, and margins, while values are the settings for those properties, and you can change these by applying changes to the selector. For example, “background-position,” “border-color,” “border-style,” and “border-width, “and “text-align” are properties and “top,” “red,” “dotted,” “thick,” and “left” are values, respectively.
3. What are the features of CSS?
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS describes how elements should be rendered on screen, on paper, in speech, or on other media.
CSS features can be the following:
From sources across the web
CSS saves time
CSS shorthand properties
Selector
Box-sizing
Easily maintainable
Subgrid
Superior styles to html
Accent color
Border-radius
Container queries
CSS borders
Device compatibility
Faster page speed
Gradients
Media queries
Search engines
4. How many properties and values are there in CSS?
There are more than 100 different properties in CSS and a nearly infinite number of different values. Not all pairs of properties and values are allowed and each property defines what are the valid values.
All CSS List Properties
Property
Description
list-style
Sets all the properties for a list in one declaration
list-style-image
Specifies an image as the list-item marker
list-style-position
Specifies the position of the list-item markers (bullet points)
Note: Properties that are underlined are properties to which multiple values can be applied.
Note: Units for a numeric value can be: mm, cm, em, ex, in, pt, px, pc, or %. (No space between a number and its unit. For example, 10px not 10 px)
CSS - Properties and Values
(Not a Complete List)
Properties
Values
background
colorurl(url) repeat attachment position
background-attachment
inherit | scroll | fixed
background-color
color name rgb( p, p, p) where 0% ≤ p ≤ 100% rgb( x, x, x) where 0 ≤ x ≤ 255 #hhhhhh where 0 ≤ h ≤ f
background-image
url( path_to_file)
background-position
x y where x is the horizontal position and can be: number | left | center | right where y is the vertical position and can be: number | top | center | bottom
background-repeat
repeat | repeat-x | repeat-y | no-repeat
background-size
width height
border
width style color for example: 1px solid rgb(100,50,200) (style can be solid | dashed | dotted | double | outset | inset | groove | ridge | none )
border-bottom
width style color Note: length is the width of the border ex. 1px solid rgb(100,50,200)
number (units - mm, cm, em, ex, in, pt, px, pc, %)
text-transform
capitalize | uppercase | lowercase | none
vertical-align (tables, img)
baseline | inherit | bottom | middle | sub | super | text-bottom | text-top | top
white-space
normal | pre | nowrap | pre-wrap | pre-line | inherit
width
number (units - mm, cm, em, ex, in, pt, px, pc, %)
word-spacing
number (units - mm, cm, em, ex, in, pt, px, pc, %)
5. How many types of CSS are there?
There are three types of CSS which are given below:
Inline CSS.
Internal or Embedded CSS. External CSS.
Inline CSS.
Inline CSS is the technique to define the single element with the insert style sheets in an HTML document. We can add CSS in three approaches: Inline, Internal, and External. It has the interactive and unique style to create a single HTML element; we can define the inline CSS on the style attribute.
Internal or Embedded CSS.
Internal or Embedded CSS: This can be used when a single HTML document must be styled uniquely. The CSS rule set should be within the HTML file in the head section i.e. the CSS is embedded within the <style> tag inside the head section of the HTML file.
External CSS
External CSS is a form of CSS which is used to add styling to multiple HTML pages at a time. It helps to design the layout of many HTML web pages simultaneously. The external CSS is always saved with the . css extension, and through this file, we can change the complete style of our HTML web page.
6. Where CSS has extensive applications?
Practical Applications of CSS
The use of CSS in web development is varied. Some of the most prominent applications of CSS include:
Controlling Effects and Flash Animation
The use of CSS streamlines the process of placing and handling flash elements on websites. By applying the built-in Flash files, styling sheets, and frameworks in CSS, developers can easily create animations, make movies, and update effects on web pages.
Managing Dynamic Web Templates
Dynamic web templates are HTML-based parent copies of web pages that contain various page elements and settings, such as styles, page layouts, graphics, and text. The use of CSS frameworks and extensions enables the creation of dynamic web templates, which allow developers to seamlessly add, edit, and manage the dynamic elements of websites that help style web pages.
e-Commerce
One of the key applications of CSS involves the development and designing of eCommerce platforms from scratch. From large-scale portals to small sites, every eCommerce platform today uses CSS files to heighten the visual appeal and user experience of their websites.
Social Media
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other major social media networks have all used Cascading Style Sheets to create dynamic websites that look great on desktop web browsers and mobile devices alike. Customizing the user interface and making design changes from an end-user perspective are the primary applications of CSS on social media platforms.
Image File Management
Features integrated into CSS frameworks not only allow developers to format, edit, and update different image formats but also enable image cropping and the creation of watermarks and thumbnails. Styling, editing, and updating a wide variety of image types, such as png, gif, and jpeg, were challenging tasks before CSS made its appearance in the web development domain.
Ease of Accessibility
When it comes to easy accessibility, Cascading Style Sheets provide unmatched solutions that facilitate seamless delivery of web pages, tailored to work and look good on different devices and browsers, for instance, PDAs and voice-enabled browsers. The ease of accessibility offered by CSS has a crucial impact on the feel and appearance of web pages from both business-specific and end-user perspectives.
Website Maintenance
One of the most common applications of CSS is website maintenance. Cascading Style Sheets play a vital role when teams perform website maintenance, making the entire process a lot faster and easier. Websites maintained with CSS files are more responsive and flexible, improving the overall performance, look, and feel.
Server-Side and End-User Representation
One of the crucial applications of CSS is to provide end-user and server-side support. CSS files can interact directly with both the end-user and the server-side for interface styling purposes. This helps optimize the web representation efficiently.
7. What are advantages of CSS?
Advantages of CSS are the following:
Saves time:
It allows you to define a style for each HTML element. You can apply this style to as many web pages as you want.
Easy maintenance: You can easily update document formatting and maintain consistency in multiple documents.
Faster page loading:
It allows multiple pages to share formatting that reduces file transfer size, which helps pages load faster.
Platform Independence:
It offers platform independence and also supports the latest browsers.
Multiple device compatibility:
It allows you to optimize content for more than one type of device. You can present an HTML document in different viewing styles for different devices like computers, cell phones, and printers.
Superior styles to HTML:
It has more presentation capabilities than HTML. It allows you to enhance the look of your HTML pages better than using HTML presentational elements and attributes.
The Advantages of CSS can be summarised as follows:
Consistency and Global Styling.
Easier to Maintain and Efficient Updates.
Time-Saving and Faster Loading Times.
Enhanced Design Options and Responsive Design.
SEO-Friendly.
Accessibility and Print-Friendly Pages.
Platform Independence and Device Compatibility.
CSS Minification and Page Load Efficiency.
8. What are disadvantages of CSS?
1. Cross-Browser Issues and Browser Compatibility
CSS might not always look the same across different web browsers. This can lead to inconsistencies in how your website appears to users.
2. Learning Curve
Another hurdle is the learning curve. CSS, while essential, can be complex, especially if you’re just starting. To master CSS, you need to grasp things like selectors, properties, values, and the box model, which can be overwhelming for beginners.
3. Security Concerns
Unlike some other web technologies, CSS doesn’t come with built-in security features. If misused, it can even become a security vulnerability, prone to attacks like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).
4. Complex Layouts and Limited Layout Control
CSS has its limitations when it comes to controlling intricate web layouts. Achieving specific designs, like making columns of equal height, can be a bit tricky without employing workarounds or turning to other technologies like Flexbox or Grid.
5. File Size and Performance Impact
Extensive or poorly optimized CSS files can make your web pages load slowly. To keep your website performing at its best, it is crucial to keep your CSS as minimal and optimized as possible.
6. Over-Specificity and Overriding Styles
The way CSS works can sometimes lead to unexpected styling conflicts. This happens because CSS is “cascading,” meaning styles can pile up and sometimes override each other in unexpected ways. Managing these conflicts can be challenging.
7. Maintenance Challenges
As websites grow and evolve, maintaining and reorganizing CSS can become quite complex and time-consuming. It is essential to stick to best practices and use naming conventions to keep your styles manageable.
9. Tips and Tricks to use CSS
The top 10 CSS tips and tricks every developer must know are as follows:
CSS Trick #1 – Adding when text is too long
CSS Trick #2 – Adding a shadow
CSS Trick #3 – SVG Alignment and Color
CSS Trick #4 – Perfect your Buttons
CSS Trick #5 – Button Bars
CSS Trick #6 – Fixed Header
CSS Trick #7 – Center Content
CSS Trick #8 – Resize Image
CSS Trick #9 – Tooltips
CSS Trick #10 – Zoom Effect
10. Conclusions
CSS is a most powerful and versatile tool for web design, offering numerous advantages. It enhances website aesthetics, allows for easy updates, and improves loading speed.
CSS also enables responsive design, ensuring your site looks great on various devices. Additionally, excessive use of CSS can slow down your site.
Understanding these pros and cons is crucial for web developers. When used wisely, CSS can transform your website into a stunning digital masterpiece, but it requires skill and care to avoid potential pitfalls.
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