So what is CSS? CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and is the language for describing web pages, which includes fonts, page colors, and layout. CSS has grown into one of the key tools for web formatting and SEO benefits in the website development industry.
For too long, the fractured way of learning CSS made it difficult to understand the medium, especially since it isn’t a full-blown language. Fortunately, CSS tools have evolved to make your life a lot easier. Here are three of the best CSS tools to simplify your coding process.
Stylizer
Stylizer is a fantastic CSS tool for beginners. It’s also incredibly helpful to UX designers and people who develop websites without knowing the ins and outs of coding.
It shows the real-time output as you’re coding, so you’ll be able to see what you’re changing about your website. For beginners, this is great, because it lets you play around and experiment as you get used to coding. Even for more experienced programmers, it streamlines repetitive tasks and saves you a lot of time.
As you code, your text shows up in side-by-side panels with your website preview. All browsers and websites are supported, making it highly accessible. Plus, the program doesn’t use temporary files, so all your work will be saved where you know it will be. The program is responsive and will flag any errors it detects in your code, allowing you to address them ahead of time instead of finding them after launch.
It’s available at a flat rate of $79 and works on both Mac and Windows. A free trial is also available for you to test it out. Even without the free trial, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up finding that it doesn’t suit your needs.
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PostCSS
PostCSS is a handy tool for adjusting your CSS code when it isn’t your primary coding language. This tool allows you to adjust your CSS code using JavaScript. What’s nice about it is that it expands your code into JavaScript counterparts, without adding any unnecessary fluff, to create an artificial user experience.
This program combines multiple, robust features to give you a seamless workflow when coding with CSS. Its grid is incredibly responsive and doesn’t sacrifice flexibility as you work. It also automatically adds prefixes to your properties. PostCSS can detect the features available on your browser and alert you to them.
What makes it really shine is how much legwork PostCSS does for you. Even a simple set of code can be expanded into a full CSS system that you can then adjust easily and intuitively.
PostCSS is an open-source platform that’s available for free (though if you like it, they do accept donations). Its impressive array of backers includes Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, and WordPress. Since it’s community crafted, it’s made by people who know which issues are most important to address.
Tailwind CSS
Tailwind CSS is an incredibly helpful CSS tool. While it may initially seem daunting to users, it’s extremely valuable as a tool for programmers. It does wonders to simplify your CSS styling, but it’s most useful for people already familiar with CSS.
What makes Tailwind intimidating is its use of inline CSS. Upon first glance, it seems to add a lot of text into your code. However, this is its utility-first CSS programming.
Instead of grouping style elements by sections of a webpage, Tailwind designates them by their use on the page. From there, you can place them anywhere in your HTML to apply them. It gives you the components you need to create your site, as well as control over how you’d like to apply them.
Tailwind is a bold, polarizing approach to CSS. It streamlines your processes significantly and counteracts the challenges of traditional, semantic CSS. It has a steeper learning curve for people familiar with that method, but it’s more intuitive once you dive into it. Not only does it help you better organize your page, but you’ll better retain that knowledge moving forward in your career.
Tailwind is another free, open-source CSS software. It’s developed by its community to solve the issues they face regularly.
Website development and programming are challenging fields with a lot of required technical knowledge. Whether you’re just getting started, or need to find something useful at your skill level, these tools may be just what you’re looking for. Ironmark’s team of web design specialists is always here to help you on your next website project. Get in touch today!
