The Future of CSS?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is the language programmers use to style the layout of HTML. It modifies the presentation of HTML documents and elements on websites. Elements in CSS are font color and size, content spacing and formatting, adding animation or videos to web pages, and many others.
Today, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS are the cornerstones of Internet technology. CSS defines the HTML elements which can be displayed on the screen or in other media. Used with HTML, CSS is fundamental to web design. With it, websites would be able to be more varied to plain text with no style.
The Brief History of CSS
In 1993, Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web (WWW) in the public domain, with the open-source code for the world’s first web browser and editor.
In 1994, CSS was proposed and developed by Håkon Wium Lie at CERN in 1996. Its development came from a need to separate the visual presentation of a webpage from its contents. Co-developed with Bert Bos, two created most CSS1 and CSS2 specifications. Over the next decade, CSS has set the fundamental web standards with significant influences on typography, aesthetics, and accessibility on the web.
CSS is the technology that makes up the World Wide Web as we know it today. 1996, CSS1 was introduced and available for use, including properties like font size and color. Over the years, it has changed plenty, and additions are still being created and added as standards, needs, demands, and requirements change.
In 1998, CSS2 was officially released with features like absolute, relative, fixing positioning of elements, and concept of media types. Later, CSS2.1 was recommended by W3C 2011, which fixed some bugs found in CSS2, such as browser extension compatibility or stability issues. CSS2.1 is a work in progress and remains a low priority.
In 1999, CSS3 was released and replaced CSS2. “CSS3 was published as a set of separate documents known as modules, instead of being a large single monolithic specification”, as cited.
One of the fixes is the module specifications. Modules were divided into smaller functional modules instead of a single module. Examples are a module for Color, Template Layout, media queries, user interface, and a module for Backgrounds and Borders.
What are the New Features in CSS?
CSS features are an accumulative effort. Some are new. Some are fixes. And some are extensions. Since the introduction of CSS, many new features and additions have been added to the CSS world. Module specifications are one of the prominent features. For example, Bootstrap, a feature-rich JavaScript library, has been the most used CSS front-end framework. And Ant Design, an open-source JavaScript platform, takes 2nd place.
According to the State of CSS 2022 survey, two utility-first libraries, Tailwind and PureCSS, might become the new favorites of programmers.
In recent years, exciting new complex layout modules have also been developed. Examples include rounded corners, shadows, gradients, transitions, Flexbox (or the Flexible Box Layout Module), and grid layout.
CSS now has more than 60 modules or specifications that have different capabilities. Some are already part of the standards. Some are still in development. Specifications are divided into procedural and technical specifications maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
As the Library of Congress described on its webpage documenting various file formats: “CSS simplifies authoring and site maintenance for websites. CSS can be used for specifying the rendering of documents in HTML, SVG, and XML on computer screens, mobile devices, paper, and speech.”
What is the current state of CSS?
CSS has grown significantly since it was first introduced in 1996. Using CSS on web pages saves time because it allows programmers to control the layout of multiple web pages at once.
Programmers can customize the font size, font, color, and animation displays (e.g., buttons, effects, loaders, and animated backgrounds). They can also add effects or animations to the websites.
CSS transforms how the website will look to its users. It makes websites attractive. There are three basic types of CSS being used today:
Inline CSS
Internal / Embedded CSS
and External CSS
For example, External CSS allows users to style multiple HTML pages simultaneously. Internal CSS deals with one single HTML page at a time.
New styling and cooperative browser features were available at Google I/O 2022 (an annual developer conference). The most exciting one is browser compatibility. It solved certain websites’ compatibility issues, which can be displayed correctly on different browsers (e.g., Google, Firefox, Microsoft Edge). It has features like container queries, subgrids, typography, cascade layers, form compatibility, etc.
How are CSS Frameworks and Tools being used?
Thanks to the innovation of CSS 25+ years ago, it modernized web pages. Today, they look amazing, from functionality to style. Along with HTML, CSS makes it possible to showcase the wholesome product virtually and effectively through the World Wide Web. It also increases web traffic and is more user-friendly. All these wouldn’t be possible without the use of frameworks and tools.
Let us talk about the CSS frameworks & tools that programmers use to build web pages. To explain it briefly, the CSS framework is a collection of pre-written style sheets and HTML files. The frameworks can be customized to fit the needs of the different users in most everyday situations. This simplifies or speeds up the process of building websites.
The top 5 CSS frameworks commonly used by web developers are Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS, Foundation, Bulma, and Skeleton.
Developed by Twitter, Bootstrap is the most popular free, open-source front-end framework for building responsive and mobile-first websites. It contains a collection of syntax for template designs. Using the framework, programmers only need to write the codes once. Then, they can reuse or duplicate the same sheet on multiple HTML pages.
Programmers can also customize frameworks to fit their needs. For example, some only need JavaScript, and some may only take a particular part of the JavaScript frameworks.
The advantages of using pre-written CSS frameworks and tools are their consistency, reliability, and browser compatibility. Companies save time and money because web developers don’t need to build user-friendly yet stylish websites from scratch.
However, having the best CSS frameworks just isn’t enough. Web developers can use the best CSS tools available to build websites efficiently. The top 5 favorite CSS tools currently available are PurgeCSS, PostCSS, Animista, Koala, and Sierra Library.
Different tools have different functions. For instance, PurgeCSS is a tool to remove unused CSS files from the website after analyzing the contents.
Web developers can use Animista to make a stylish website. Animista is an animation library with a collection of ready-to-download animation.
Sierra Library is a collection of free, open-source CSS platforms that users can download. And Koala is a graphic user interface (GUI) program. It’s an open-source Python package that can run on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
How to Optimize the Performance in CSS?
Web developers can build incredible websites with many features using the best available CSS frameworks and tools. Yet, users want to see responsive websites with content loading seamlessly. But font, color, animation, JavaScript, and media files can slow down web pages. Optimizing performance becomes one of the priorities while ensuring usability.
CSS render-blocking is usually responsible for browser page loading delay or preventing a page from loading. Adding media queries is an easier way to speed up the performance. As described by Mozilla, “Media queries are important for a responsive web design and help us optimize a critical rendering path.”
There are also other ways to optimize the performance of websites. They include animating on the graphics processing unit (GPU), the will-change property, the front-display property, and the content property. Responsive, user-friendly browsers or positive web user experience increases a website’s traffic. That is why web performance optimization is essential.
Why is User Experience in CSS meaningful?
Optimized performance and a positive user experience go hand in hand. User experience (UX) in CSS refers to creating web pages that can provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. It’s also called the user interface or user interaction. Building a website using CSS frameworks and tools is only a tiny part of what is needed. UX is the key to attracting and increasing web traffic.
Designers need to understand how users can interact with the technology. For example, the designers must consider what devices a user will use to access a website. It’s smartphones, tablets, or laptops. And who the users are. Besides user-friendliness and ease of navigation, designers can enhance UX with animation, coloring, or typography. Positive UX or feedback between users and technology helps developers improve and innovate.
The Importance of CSS Accessibility for All Users
Besides UX, another piece of regulation to protect all web users worldwide is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which is the most-referenced set of standards in the industry today. WCAG was created and published by W3C in 2008. It can be categorized into four main areas: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Some of the guidelines web developers and designers must follow. They are front color choices, which must have sufficient contrast with the background color. The standard for the minimum difference is 4:5:1 for small text and 3:1 for large text. Other guidelines include object position, style sheet control, text spacing, designs separating from contents, and others.
What Role Does CSS Play in Future Web Technologies?
CSS is a fundamental web design building block as it continues evolving and expanding its capabilities. With its long-standing presence in the realm of web development and its straightforward nature, CSS will be here to stay for a long time. CSS will be crucial in designing and developing responsive and dynamic websites in the coming years.
As a programming language, CSS helps web developers style websites. It adds design elements like colors, font styles, animation, and spacing to web pages.
CSS plays a vital role in the future of web technologies. With CSS separating the design from the content, it is easier to change the design without affecting it. With technological advancements and the growing demand for a seamless user experience, CSS will adopt new features. It will better manage layout, typography, and color and improve animation and transitions.
Takeaway
The future of CSS is bright and full of possibilities. As the web continues to evolve, it will adapt and expand its capabilities. Despite being over two decades old, CSS remains essential to web design and development. It helps designers and developers create better and more effective websites for users. UX improves CSS by providing the visual structure and design elements that make websites aesthetically pleasing and improve usability.
Without CSS, web pages would still be limited to actual HTML content. It would need more visual appeal and interactivity than users expect from modern websites. CSS transforms the World Wide Web. It also keeps pace with the rapid technological changes to meet the demands of the current web. The future for CSS looks bright with new features and upgrades in web technologies.
