CSS Maintenance
CSS Maintenance
CSS, widely known as Cascading Style Sheets, is used to style elements created using HTML tags and is responsible for the look and feel of a web page. We can use CSS to change the color of text, alter the background, add any image, or provide space between text. We can create numerous ways to display a single piece of content.
In this article, we’ll explain the ease of maintenance with CSS and the benefits of using CSS.
Advantages of CSS
The following are the advantages of using CSS –
Saves Time
When we write CSS code, we can use it on multiple other elements in HTML because the code is reusable. We can apply styles to one element and then apply it to multiple web pages.
<style>
.display {
font-family: Arial;
font-size: 25px;
}
</style>
By looking at the code above, you can see how little code is used. And because the code is so short, it compiles quickly, saving a lot of time.
Less Code
CSS code written for an element on a web page can be used in multiple other places because we use classes. Maintenance is also easier and less code is needed because of the reduced bandwidth consumption.
CSS is easy to maintain
CSS styles can be defined globally or declared in a common location, making changes to any element simple. Imagine we have a website with the same styles for some elements and different styles for others. When we want to change the style of these elements, we can easily do so by changing the style class. We can also use property inheritance to apply multiple style sheets to our HTML elements.
In the following code, we can change the style of an element by changing the class.
<style>
.display {
font:12px Arial
}
</style>
Adhere to web standards
Currently used HTML elements are depreciating, so it’s recommended to design websites using HTML elements alongside CSS to ensure compatibility with current and future browsers.
Providing an Independent Platform
CSS provides an independent platform, so it can support all types of browsers and can load the website easily without any errors.
Various Ways to Define Various Styles
The power of CSS is right there in its name, the “cascade,” meaning we can apply more than one style to an element. We can override global styles and declare local styles, because local styles take precedence over global styles.
Example
In the code below, you can see that we use a single selector to reference two classes.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>This is an example</title>
<style>
p.cen { color: red;
text-align: center;
}
p.lar {
font-size: 30%;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1 class="cen">There will be no effect in this heading</h1>
<p class="cen">The color of the paragraph will be red and its alignment will be centered.</p>
<p class="cen lar">The color of the paragraph will be red and its alignment will be centered and the font size will be large.</p>
</body>
</html>
Now, just like everything has its pros and cons, CSS also has its cons. So, let’s talk about the cons of CSS.
Disadvantages of CSS
The following are the main disadvantages of CSS:
- Causes confusion – CSS has CSS 1 and CSS 3 versions. If developers don’t use the latest version, recent browsers may experience confusion and issues loading styles correctly.
-
Inconsistencies between different browsers – CSS may work one way in one browser but differently in some other browsers, which is why the W3C recommends checking browser compatibility before running.
-
Compatibility issues – After making some changes to CSS, some compatibility issues may arise. This change may be seen in some browsers, and there may be a lack of security.
-
Beginner’s confusion – The world of programming is quite vast, as there are many languages with their own features. Different versions of CSS, such as CSS2 and CSS3, can be confusing for beginners.
-
Cross-browser compatibility and difficulty for beginners – Different browsers use different logic to implement CSS stylesheets, which can hinder cross-browser compatibility, and certain aspects of CSS can be difficult or confusing for some beginners and early developers.
Conclusion
CSS is a crucial pillar of web development because, without it, any type of styling would be impossible. It may seem confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, working with CSS becomes magical for front-end developers. CSS was created as a methodological language to separate document content from presentation. Presentation includes color, layout, fonts, size, and more. CSS is responsible for the look and feel of a web page, providing users with a wealth of customization capabilities.