To deliver an optimized website, it is vital to have clean and organized code. Here are ten essential CSS tips that can help you develop better and cleaner code.
1. Use Cascading and Inheritance
Cascading and Inheritance help maintain the consistency of your website. By assigning styles to parent elements and using them throughout the document, you can easily update the design of your website by altering the style of the parent element.
Example:
`.parent {
color: red;
}`
`.child {
font-size: 20px;
}`
In this code, the parent class defines the red font color and the child class defines the font size. The inheritance results in the child’s text being red in color as well as the specified font-size.
2. Use ID Selectors Sparingly
Use ID selectors only if you must use them because they override all other selectors resulting in over-specificity. Use classes and elements only for your selectors as they result in better CSS code organizational structure and easy to maintain code.
Example:
`#navbar {
background-color: blue;
}`
3. Group Selectors with Commas
Group selectors with commas to save code and allow for easier management.
Example:
`h1,
h2,
h3 {
font-size: 24px;
}`
4. Use Shorthand Properties
Using shorthand properties can effectively reduce the amount of code you use and make it easier to read in the future. It also helps in optimizing the size of the webpage by reducing the number of bytes sent from the server to the client.
Example:
`padding: 20px 10px 30px 10px;`
5. Use srcset and sizes attributes for Images
Using the srcset and sizes attributes result in better image responsiveness and saves bandwidth.
Example:
“`
“`
6. Avoid Inline styles
Although inline styles override all other selectors, avoid them as they can be difficult to maintain and affect your website’s loading performance.
7. Use Flexbox
Flexbox provides an easier way to create modern CSS layouts. It is a powerful tool for building responsive websites with complex layouts.
Example:
“`
.container {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
justify-content: space-between;
}
“`
8. Use Rems instead of Pixels
Using rems instead of pixels to size fonts and containers will result in better website responsiveness as the page zooms in or out.
Example:
“`
p {
font-size: 1rem;
}
.container {
padding: 1.5rem;
}
“`
9. Use CSS preprocessors
CSS preprocessors minimize code repetition and improves CSS maintainability and readability.
Example:
SASS or less
“`
$primary-color: blue;
.navbar {
background-color: $primary-color;
}
“`
10. Use CSS Linting and Formatting Tools
Use CSS linters and formatting tools to write consistent, maintainable, and error-free code.
Example:
There are various online linter tools like CSS lint, Stylelint, etc.. that provide an effective way to check your CSS code.
In conclusion, implementing these ten essential CSS tips can help you develop a better, easier-to-maintain, and optimized website. By ensuring your code is clean and organized, you can improve your website’s performance and user experience.
