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6 CSS Tips that Web Developers Should be Using

Cascading style sheets, or CSS, simplify processes for web developers to aid in quicker code writing, easier maintainability, ease in debugging, and clean, easy to read code. Below we share six CSS tips that web developers should be using.

  1. Utilize a master style sheet. To avoid inconsistencies in designs across browsers, remove default browser styling. When coding a website, reset the styling and log the new desired codes in a master style sheet to keep organized for consistency, easy updating, ease in debugging, and long-term maintainability.

  2. Save time with shorthand notation. Shorthand CSS not only saves developers time and aggravation, but it also makes code cleaner. For example, hexadecimal color notations can be shortened by omitting every second digit.

  3. Bypass non-working old browsers. Several older browsers, such as Netscape 4 and IE 4, don't support CSS with many new layout practices. This can be bypassed by importing to block non-supportive browsers by entering the following:

<style type=”text/css”>

@import '/path/to/stylesheet.css';

</style>

  1. Keep an accurate log of names and classes. Use a common naming system for ID's and classes for easy debugging and document updates. Maintain a library of CSS classes to help keep track of multiple class names. Multiple elements can share the same class name, making it important to have an organized logging system for maintainability.

  2. Develop faster with CSS Constants. Fixed values can be used throughout the code to save developers time and minimize mistakes. Color glossaries are a good example of simplifying through CSS Constants. Color glossaries create a site color reference which helps to avoid utilizing the wrong color.

  3. Isolate frequently used properties. If there are properties that you repeatedly use, instead of constantly re-writing these properties, isolate them for easy re-use. Isolated properties can repeatedly be used and are easily updated to alter the way it's displayed on various sites.

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