Supportsoft Glossary

Styling Language for Web Layouts

CSS is a language that handles how web pages look visually. The structure for a web page, including its headings, paragraphs, images, forms, etc., is expressed in HTML. The way that these elements are rendered and function on the web page is specified using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).  CSS defines the following attributes of the visual design system used in creating web pages: colour, typography, spacing, layout, animation, and, most importantly, the overall user experience.

The most important feature of CSS is its "cascading" feature, which allows the application of styles from multiple levels, including inline styles, internal styles, and external stylesheets. As a result, designers can create a colour or style hierarchy for their website without needing to rewrite the style at every instance within the HTML document (DOM). The order of specificity will determine which style is applied to an element.

CSS has changed drastically over the years. In the past, designers would only have basic capabilities such as float, clear, and position, but now, with the advent of Flexbox and Grid, designers can build layouts that adjust depending on the size of the viewable area of the device. Additional capabilities, like the use of variables, media queries, and advanced selectors, also allow for more granular control over how an element behaves, while transitions and keyframe animations bring the interactivity and movement to interactive interfaces for the end-user to experience.