DEV Community

Cover image for How to master CSS?
lioliveiraz
lioliveiraz

Posted on

How to master CSS?

In Web Development when we start to code the first things that we learn are HTML, CSS and JavaScript, but more we learn more far we go from the basic.

Now I am in a point of my career where I want to focus on learning CSS. Not the syntax nor the basic bits of knowledge that are needed to build a stylesheet, but the best practices and best ways to build a responsive application — using pure CSS.

Thus, what do you think? What is the best way to master CSS?

Top comments (1)

Collapse
 
alohci profile image
Nicholas Stimpson
  1. Read the CSS 2.2 specification from beginning to end, carefully. It will teach you the concepts that underpin the properties.
  2. Learn the importance of HTML semantics, and how CSS specificity exploits those semantics to allow you to write DRY efficient selectors that won't be prone to specificity wars.
  3. Read the history. Håkon Wium Lie's thesis is available on-line and is very readable. It'll explain the choices that were made from the styling languages that preceded it, and why the cascade exists.
  4. Maybe watch the CSS issues list on GitHub. It'll teach you how the people who design and extend CSS think about the process of improving CSS, and the challenges they face in doing so.