CategoryCSS

May 2, 2024 — Amit Sheen demonstrates using :has() to apply styles conditionally when a certain <option> in a <select> element is chosen by the user and how we gain even more conditional styling capabilities when chaining :has() with other pseudo-classes, such as :not() — no JavaScript necessary. Read more…

April 12, 2024 — Creating 3D effects in CSS isn’t an entirely new concept, but typical approaches use additional elements in the markup and pseudo-elements in the styles to pull it off. Temani Afif applies 3D effects and sliding transitions to a single <img> using clever CSS techniques that demonstrate advanced, modern styling practices. Read more…

April 2, 2024 — Remember the HTML <marquee> element? It’s deprecated, so it’s not like you’re going to use it when you need some sort of horizontal auto-scrolling feature. That’s where CSS comes in because it has all the tools we need to pull it off. Silvestar Bistrović demonstrates a technique that makes it possible with a set of images and as little HTML as possible. Read more…

March 25, 2024 — There are many ways to approach a “Dark Mode” feature that respects a user’s system color scheme preferences and allows for per-site customization. Henry Bley-Vroman walks through a new possibility that leans into cutting-edge CSS, with minimal JavaScript to support persisting the user’s color scheme preference across pages. Read more…

March 8, 2024 — In Part 1 of this series, Temani Afif explored different CSS techniques to create tooltip shapes. The main challenge was to rely on a single element and create optimized code that could easily be controlled using CSS variables to update the size, shape, and position of the tail. In this second part, you are going explore more shapes. Read more…

March 1, 2024 — Tooltips are a very common pattern used in CSS for years. There are a lot of ways to approach tooltips in CSS, though some evoke headaches with all the magic numbers they require. In this article, Temani Afif presents modern techniques to create tooltips with the smallest amount of markup and the greatest amount of flexibility. Read more…

February 9, 2024 — A radar chart — also commonly called a spider chart — is yet another way to visualize data and make connections. Radar charts are inherently geometric, making them both a perfect fit and fun to make with CSS, thanks to the polygon() function. Read along as Preethi Sam demonstrates the process and sprinkles it with a pinch of JavaScript to make a handy, reusable component. Read more…

January 25, 2024 — Taking inspiration from shadows, author Yair Even Or creates the same sort of thing, only with a blurring effect in place of the shadow. Read along for a step-by-step explanation of how it comes together using a combination of masks, gradients, and the good ol’ backdrop-filter property. Read more…

January 16, 2024 — The CSS border-image property is one of those properties you undoubtedly know exists but may not have ever reached for. In this article, Temani Afif demonstrates different approaches for using border-image to create clever decorative accents and shapes. Read more…

January 2, 2024 — The View Transitions API is a new — but game-changing — feature that allows us to do the types of reactive state-based UI and page transitions that have traditionally been exclusive to JavaScript frameworks. In the second half of this mini two-part series, Adrian Bece expands on the demos from the first article to demonstrate how the View Transitions API can be used to transition not just elements between two states but the transition between full views and pages in single-page and multi-page applications. Read more…