As a front-end developer, you know that it is not possible to know everything from the start. It takes constant learning and effort to become a better web designer. The complexity increases if you are a front-end web developer who has to manage multiple things at the same time. Also, it is hard to keep everything in mind. All of these issues lead to a need for tips and tricks that are overlooked in CSS for web design.
In today’s article, we will be discussing the above topic. The list will contain different tips and tricks that can help you become a better designer. To ensure that we understand the idea, we will also be sharing some code samples.
Before we get started, we would like to mention that experimentation is the most important thing that you need to do when working as a web designer. That’s why we recommend 000webhost as it offers free web hosting, which is perfect for trying out new builds and designs.
1. Don’t Use CSS Code for Quotes
Even though we want most of the things to be done through CSS, but there is sometimes a better way to handle certain elements. Quotes, for example, don’t need to be typed within CSS. HTML provides a functional <q> tag for quoting inline elements. You can also cascade these elements and put a quote within another one!
So, how does it come in handy? First of all, you can do nested quotes without using double quotes. Secondly, you can also define the quotes preference in your code with the help of CSS2 quotes property.
2. Heading and Subheadings
When you code, it is common to number them manually. This comes in handy in the future. However, numbering them manually, or even through the script, is not a good idea.
To handle them, you should be using CSS counters in your code. CSS counters let you ensure the count without doing anything manually. If you are interested, you can follow the guide on CSS Counter here.
CSS Counter is also CSS2 compliant, which means that you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues with older browsers.
3. Use Sticky Elements
Sticky elements are an important part of modern web design. They offer a way for the designer to ensure that an element sticks to the web page even when the user scrolls down. Technically, it is all about sticking the element to scrolling box or a viewpoint. It just has to be visible to work properly.
To use it effectively, you can use the position:sticky; CSS property. This property is handy and works in relation to the surrounding elements. The property, however, is not widely implemented and is currently supported only in Firefox.
4. Try More SVG Animations
Web design has evolved a great deal over the past decade. Now, you have the tools to create a stunning interactive design. You can also include SVGs. SVGs, or animations, play a crucial role in making the web what it is now. They scale according to the screen resolution and provide proper manipulation through CSS.
As a web designer, your job is to effectively use SVG to your advantage. You should try out CSS animations using SVG mode. This will allow you to create a stunning design that works well in the modern browsers.
5. Improving Underlines
Underlining provide a good way to emphasize content. But, do you know that you can make underlines look different, and hence, more attractive? For example, you can use a dotted underline or dashed line.
The approach should not use border-bottom as it limits your approach. To ensure that you can do the above-mentioned optimization, you need to use the new text decoration properties available within CCS3. You can use text-decoration-line, text-decoration-color and text-decoration-style to further customize the underline.
If you are feeling more creative, you can add more animations to them. However, be wary of the support provided in the current browsers.
6. Tables
Tables play a crucial role in presenting information on the web site. However, managing large tables can be a difficult task as they don’t adjust properly according to different screen resolutions and sizes. This can become an issue for a website that uses a lot of tables.
To solve the problem, you need to use table-layout:fixed instead of just using table-layout property only. This way you can fix the table width. It should also make sure that the table cells width also remains stable. This way it can be rendered in all the browsers without any issues.
7. Parallax Scrolling Effect
If you are developing modern websites, you should know how popular parallax has become. It is compact, sleek and enables the modern website to pop up. As a designer, you should not overlook the design philosophy as using it can transform your project or the site you are working on.
Implementing Parallax is easy as you can use a JavaScript library to do so. However, we recommend that you consider writing your own code to ensure that you have complete control of what’s going on the screen. You should also ensure that your code is high-quality as it will make the design work smoothly.
8. Blinking Backgrounds
We already discussed the important role that animations play in the success of a website. That’s why we also recommend creating beautiful backgrounds/clips that can easily capture the attention of the user. It should be a simple, but attractive. Don’t try to use a complex picture or animation type as it will put off the visitor completely.
9. Mandatory Fields
Mandatory Fields should be imposed on some sections of the website, especially the forms. You can do it directly from CSS by using the optional: required pseudo classes. This way you will able to control the correct functionality directly from the CSS.
10. StoryBooks
Our last tip is to treat your web site design as a storybook. This means capitalizing the first letter of the paragraph by using the ::first-letter pseudo element.
Conclusion
This leads us to the end of the tips and tricks that are overlooked in CSS for web design. We know how immense CSS is, that’s why we recommend that you add more points to the article by commenting below and sharing your point of view with others.
About the Author
Madan Pariyar is a blogger at WebPrecious and a digital marketing strategist helping clients to resolve their website woes. When not busy with all these things, you may find Madan occasionally watching movies, traveling and spending time with family.
