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Use a consistent naming convention
2
Follow the DRY principle
3
Use a CSS preprocessor
4
Use a CSS framework
5
Use a CSS methodology
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6
Use a CSS linter
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7
Here’s what else to consider
CSS is a powerful and flexible language that allows you to style and layout web pages. However, without proper organization and structure, CSS can quickly become messy, hard to maintain, and difficult to scale. In this article, you will learn some tips and techniques to write CSS that is maintainable and scalable, and avoid common pitfalls and bad practices.
Key takeaways from this article
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Consistent naming conventions:
Implement a clear set of rules for naming your CSS selectors, classes, and ids. Not only does this streamline collaboration, but it also helps you quickly identify elements and maintain styling consistency across your project.
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Component-based approach:
Adopt a component-based strategy to manage your styles. This means breaking down the UI into individual components, which can be styled independently, making your code easier to maintain and scale as your project grows.
This summary is powered by AI and these experts
- Hesam Rad Back End Developer | Laravel | PHP
- Talgat Saribayev Software Architect
1 Use a consistent naming convention
One of the first steps to write maintainable and scalable CSS is to use a consistent naming convention for your selectors, classes, and ids. A naming convention is a set of rules and guidelines that help you create clear and descriptive names for your elements and components. There are different naming conventions that you can follow, such as BEM, OOCSS, or SMACSS, or you can create your own. The important thing is to stick to one convention throughout your project, and document it for yourself and other developers.
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- Hesam Rad Back End Developer | Laravel | PHP
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I would say that leveraging a component-based approach and using the right amount of variables are going to work best in the long run.
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Naming convention helps to scale, reduce css rules collisions and debug & maintain code. On top of the mentioned conventions, I would like to add 3 alternatives:* CSS modules* Shadow DOM* Atomic CSS (would be my choice for the most of the projects).
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Avoid using non descriptive classes. It's easier to understand the styles if it's labelled as something like full-width or top-banner compared to class a, b and c
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Consistent naming conventions are pivotal for maintainable CSS. While various approaches like BEM, OOCSS, or SMACSS exist, the selection often hinges on the company's protocols. Personally, I lean towards BEM due to its clear structure. For instance, with BEM, a navigation bar could be structured as follows:cssCopy code/* Block */.nav-bar { /* Styles for the block */}/* Element */.nav-item { /* Styles for the element */}/* Modifier */.nav-item--active { /* Modified styles for the active state */}BEM's hierarchical format enhances code clarity, simplifying comprehension and upkeep. However, the choice should align with the team consensus and project requisites, ensuring an effective coding standard.
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2 Follow the DRY principle
DRY stands for Don't Repeat Yourself, and it is a principle that aims to reduce duplication and redundancy in your code. Repeating the same styles or properties in multiple places can make your CSS harder to maintain and scale, as you will have to update them in every instance if you want to make a change. To follow the DRY principle, you should use variables, mixins, functions, and inheritance to reuse and modularize your code. For example, you can use variables to store common colors, fonts, or sizes, and mixins to create reusable blocks of styles.
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- Jeremy Ashley Full-Stack Software Engineer | Java | React | Next.js | Javascript | Express | Node.js | HTML | CSS | PostgreSQL | MongoDB | WordPress
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When I notice code déjà vu, I'm all about avoiding the copy-paste madness. Instead, I create classes that bundle up those repeating styles. It's like giving my code a wardrobe of styles to choose from. And here's the cool part – I can mix and match these styles by slapping on multiple classes to a single element. It's like styling freedom! So, I keep it snappy, use variables for consistency, and keep my codebase feeling fresh and tidy.
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3 Use a CSS preprocessor
A CSS preprocessor is a tool that extends the functionality and features of CSS, and compiles it into regular CSS that browsers can understand. Some of the benefits of using a CSS preprocessor are that you can write more concise and expressive code, use variables, mixins, functions, nesting, loops, and other features that are not available in plain CSS, and organize your code into multiple files and folders. Some of the most popular CSS preprocessors are Sass, Less, and Stylus.
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- Talgat Saribayev Software Architect
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Please don't use a preprocessor. Modern CSS is very powerful and the only problem I have is selectors collision(no encapsulation). Which are the most css tools aimed to solve.
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4 Use a CSS framework
A CSS framework is a collection of ready-made styles, components, and utilities that you can use to build your web pages faster and easier. A CSS framework can help you write maintainable and scalable CSS by providing you with a consistent and modular structure, a responsive grid system, a set of common UI elements, and a set of best practices and coding standards. Some of the most popular CSS frameworks are Bootstrap, Tailwind, and Bulma.
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- Jeremy Ashley Full-Stack Software Engineer | Java | React | Next.js | Javascript | Express | Node.js | HTML | CSS | PostgreSQL | MongoDB | WordPress
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Leverage CSS frameworks like Tailwind to simplify responsive design, especially beneficial for beginners struggling with manual media queries. Tailwind streamlines the optimization process for diverse screen sizes, making it an excellent tool for efficient design.
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5 Use a CSS methodology
A CSS methodology is a system or approach that helps you organize and structure your CSS code in a logical and consistent way. A CSS methodology can help you write maintainable and scalable CSS by defining a set of rules and principles that guide you on how to write, format, group, and name your code, how to handle specificity, inheritance, and cascade, how to manage layout, components, and states, and how to adapt to different devices and scenarios. Some of the most popular CSS methodologies are BEM, ITCSS, and Atomic Design.
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6 Use a CSS linter
A CSS linter is a tool that analyzes your CSS code and detects errors, bugs, inconsistencies, and bad practices. A CSS linter can help you write maintainable and scalable CSS by enforcing a consistent style and format, improving the quality and readability of your code, and preventing potential issues and conflicts. Some of the most popular CSS linters are Stylelint, CSSLint, and Sass Lint.
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7 Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
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- Jeremy Ashley Full-Stack Software Engineer | Java | React | Next.js | Javascript | Express | Node.js | HTML | CSS | PostgreSQL | MongoDB | WordPress
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Leveraging component-based architecture and passing CSS as props enhances maintainability and adheres to the DRY principle. Reusable components accepting dynamic styles as props allow efficient style management, reducing redundancy. For example, a button component could receive style-related props like color or size, minimizing code duplication. This approach, prevalent in frameworks like React, Vue, or Angular, facilitates global style updates by modifying the component. I fell in love with this when I first learned of it from attending a local seminar on css.
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