Hello, lovely people! Are you ready to dive into the world of CSS best practices for web standards compliance? 💻🎨💡

As a CSS lover, I’m excited to share with you some valuable tips and tricks that will help you achieve your goals in creating beautiful and functional web designs. Whether you’re a beginner or have been in the game for a while, these dos and don’ts will guide you towards a standard-compliant and maintainable CSS codebase.

Let’s get started! 🚀

Do’s

Do use semantic markup

When designing a website, it’s essential to use semantic markup. Semantic HTML tags such as <header>, <nav>, <main>, and <footer> not only describe the content within them but also help search engines and screen readers understand the structure of the page. By using semantic markup, you’re essentially making your website more accessible and improving its search engine optimization (SEO).

Illustration of semantic markup with HTML tags

Do use CSS preprocessors

Using CSS preprocessors such as Sass, Less, and Stylus can make writing CSS more manageable and efficient. These preprocessing languages allow you to use variables, mixins, functions, and nested rules, among other features. This means that you can easily reuse code, keep your codebase organized, and quickly make changes to your stylesheets.

A code editor with Sass preprocessing language syntax highlighting

Do use CSS resets

CSS resets are a collection of styles that aim to standardize the default styles across various web browsers. By using CSS resets, you can start with a clean slate and consistently style your website across all browsers. Some popular CSS resets include Normalize.css and Reset.css.

An illustration of Normalize.css and Reset.css logos

Do use CSS frameworks

CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap, Foundation, and Materialize can save you time by providing a pre-built set of CSS styles and UI components. By using CSS frameworks, you can focus on the functionality of your website rather than writing CSS code from scratch. However, be mindful of the file size and the production code quality of the framework you are using.

Three logos of popular CSS frameworks Bootstrap, Foundation, and Materialize

Do use media queries

Responsive web design is crucial in today’s world, where users access websites on various devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Media queries allow you to create different stylesheets based on the screen size and other parameters such as orientation and pixel density. By using media queries, you can ensure that your website looks great and performs well across all devices.

Illustration of responsive website design with media queries in CSS

Don’ts

Don’t use inline styles

Inline styles are styles that are directly applied to HTML elements using the style attribute. While using inline styles might seem like a quick and easy solution, it can make your code difficult to maintain, and it violates the separation of concerns principle. Instead, use external stylesheets and apply classes to your HTML elements.

An example of inline CSS styles applied to an HTML paragraph element

Don’t use !important

The !important keyword is a CSS declaration that takes precedence over other stylesheets and inline styles. While it might seem like a solution to override styles, using !important can cause specificity issues and make it challenging to maintain your code in the long run. Instead, use specificity and cascading to create styles that are easy to manage and override if necessary.

A warning symbol next to the !important keyword in CSS

Don’t use too many fonts and colors

Using a variety of fonts and colors can make your website look unprofessional and cluttered. Instead, stick to a consistent color palette and a limited number of fonts. This will not only create a harmonious visual experience but also improve the website’s loading time and performance.

An illustration of a consistent color palette with different shades of blue and gray

Don’t go overboard with animations and effects

While animations and effects can add visual interest to your website, overusing them can make your website look overwhelming and confusing. Instead, use animations and effects to highlight important information or create a sense of hierarchy.

An illustration of a website with subtle animations and effects on hover

Don’t forget to test your website

Finally, don’t forget to test your website across different web browsers and devices. By testing your website, you can catch any issues and ensure that your website is accessible to all users.

An illustration of a website being tested on multiple devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones

And there you have it, folks! These are some essential dos and don’ts to help you create standard-compliant CSS code. By following these best practices, you can create beautiful and functional websites that are accessible to all users.

👋 Until next time!