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Diffstat (limited to 'content/blog/2019-01-07-useful-css.org')
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1 files changed, 32 insertions, 31 deletions
diff --git a/content/blog/2019-01-07-useful-css.org b/content/blog/2019-01-07-useful-css.org index abf3967..59a982f 100644 --- a/content/blog/2019-01-07-useful-css.org +++ b/content/blog/2019-01-07-useful-css.org @@ -5,14 +5,15 @@ * Introduction to CSS -[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS][CSS]], the language used to markup HTML code and make it "pretty", is one of the -most effective ways to increase the attractiveness of a website. It can also -lead to increased user engagement, retention, and satisfaction. In fact, there -are whole career fields are dedicated to the improvement of user experiences, -known as UI design and UX design. - -Some web developers are used to the common CSS properties, such as element -sizing, fonts, colors, etc., but are not as well versed in less-used properties +Cascading Style Sheets ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS][CSS]]), the language used to mark up HTML code and give it +a visual style, is one of the most effective ways to increase the attractiveness +of a website. It can also lead to increased user engagement, retention, and +satisfaction. In fact, there are whole career fields dedicated to the +improvement of user experiences, known as User Interface (UI) design and User +Experience (UX) design. + +Some web developers are familiar with the common CSS properties, such as element +sizing, fonts, and colors, but are not as well versed in less-used properties and values such as =flexbox=, =clip-path=, and =transform=. This article will provide some insight into the less-used and unique CSS properties. @@ -23,10 +24,10 @@ developers. CSS variables allow you to give your website a well-defined structure, where you can easily reuse CSS properties throughout the project. You can use variables to define things, such as color palettes. Then, you can -use these colors for backgrounds anywhere else in the HTML. This could be -extended, where extra variables could be defined for =primary-text=, -=quoted-text=, etc. Variables can also be used to define spacing (e.g. =32px= or -=2rem=), which can then be applied to margins, padding, font sizes, and more. +use these colors for backgrounds anywhere else in the HTML. You can expand this +and define variables for =primary-text=, =quoted-text=, etc. You can also use +variables to define spacing (e.g. =32px= or =2rem=), which you can then apply to +margins, padding, font sizes, and more. For example, here are some variables defined at the root of the website, which allows for any subsequent CSS rules to use those variables: @@ -47,11 +48,11 @@ body { Box shadows were once my mortal enemy. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get them to work how I wanted. Because of this, my favorite discovery -has been CSSMatic's [[https://www.cssmatic.com/box-shadow][box shadow generator]]. It provides an excellent tool to -generate box shadows using their simple sliders. Surprisingly, this is the -reason I learned how box shadows work! You can use the sliders and watch how the -CSS code changes in the image that is displayed. Through this, you should -understand that the basic structure for box shadows is: +has been CSSMatic's [[https://www.cssmatic.com/box-shadow][box shadow generator]]. It provides a tool to generate box +shadows using their simple sliders. Surprisingly, this is the reason I learned +how box shadows work! You can use the sliders and watch how the CSS code changes +in the image that the tool displays. Through this, you should understand that +the basic structure for box shadows is: #+begin_src css box-shadow: inset horizontal vertical blur spread color; @@ -118,19 +119,19 @@ with the code, experiment, and learn. Try these box shadows out on your own and see how changing each shadow value works. -* CSS Flexbox +* CSS Flex Box -Now, let's move on to the best part of this article: flexbox. The flexbox is by +Now, let's move on to the best part of this article: flex box. The flex box is by far my favorite new toy. I originally stumbled across this solution after looking for more efficient ways of centering content horizontally AND -vertically. I had used a few hack-ish methods before, but flexbox throws those -out the window. The best part of it all is that flexbox is /dead simple/. +vertically. I had used other methods before, but flex box throws those out the +window. The best part of it all is that flex box is /dead simple/. -Flexbox pertains to the parent div of any element. You want the parent to be the -flexbox in which items are arranged to use the flex methods. It's easier to see -this in action that explained, so let's see an example. +Flex Box pertains to the parent div of any element. You want the parent to be the +flex box and the children's behavior modified by the parent's attributes. It's +easier to see this in action that explained, so let's see an example. -*Flexbox* +*Flex Box* #+begin_src html <div class="flex-examples"> @@ -166,13 +167,13 @@ this in action that explained, so let's see an example. You may notice that we no longer need to use the =top= property for the =h3= elements in our code. This is because we set the display box to be a flex container for the small boxes, AND we made the small boxes flex containers for -their elements (the h3 tags). Flex boxes can be nested like this to center -content that is inside centered content. +their elements (the h3 tags). You can nest flex boxes to center content that is +inside centered content. For the example above, we designated the =justify-content= property to be -=flex-start= so that the boxes stack from the left side of the screen. This -property can be changed to =center= to make the boxes appear in the center of -the screen. +=flex-start= so that the boxes stack from the left side of the screen. You can +change this property to =center= to make the boxes appear in the center of the +screen. For an interactive example, [[https://codepen.io/LandonSchropp/pen/KpzzGo][check out this CodePen]] from [[https://codepen.io/LandonSchropp/][LandonScropp]]. Resize the window with dice to see how they collapse and re-align. @@ -180,4 +181,4 @@ window with dice to see how they collapse and re-align. * Even More CSS For more inspiration, you can visit [[https://www.codepen.io][CodePen]], [[https://dribbble.com][Dribbble]], or [[https://uimovement.com][UI Movement]] to browse -the collections of many amazing web designers. +the collections of amazing web designers. |