CSS Intro:

  1. CSS is the language we use to style a Web page.
  2. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
  3. CSS describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on screen, paper, or in other media
  4. CSS saves a lot of work. It can control the layout of multiple web pages all at once
  5. External stylesheets are stored in CSS files

CSS History:

History of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a stylesheet language used to control the presentation of HTML documents. It was developed to separate content (HTML) from design, enabling cleaner and more efficient web development.

1. Origins (1994-1996)

  • CSS was proposed in 1994 by Håkon Wium Lie while working at CERN.
  • In 1996, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released the first official specification, CSS1, defining basic features like fonts, colors, and spacing.

2. CSS2 (1998)

  • CSS2 introduced more sophisticated features, including:
    • Absolute, relative, and fixed positioning.
    • Media-specific stylesheets for different devices (e.g., screen vs. print).
    • Z-index for layering content.

3. CSS4 (2018-Present)

  • While CSS4 as a unified specification doesn’t exist, newer modules (e.g., Scroll Snap, Houdini API) represent its evolution.
  • Modern CSS focuses on enhancing user experience, accessibility, and compatibility with complex designs.

CSS has transformed web design, enabling visually stunning, responsive, and accessible websites while reducing code complexity.

In simple language we can say CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a language used to style and design web pages. It controls how HTML elements look, such as their colors, fonts, sizes, layouts, and positioning,  and many more features in CSS making websites visually appealing and user-friendly.

Ex:

  • HTML HyperText Markup Language is the structure (the "bones") of a webpage.
  • CSS is the design (the "skin and clothes") that makes it look good.