CSS FAQ

What is CSS?

• CSS stands for "Cascading Style Sheets" and is a web technology for defining the layout and look of a web page. With CSS you can alter the design of your web page without modifying HTML or PHP code.

• Wikipedia on CSS

Where can I learn more about using CSS?

Online resources

• The W3Schools CSS Tutorial is a great way to learn about CSS by example.
• A List Apart is a great resource for everything regarding web design, not only CSS.
• CSS-Discuss Wiki - Wiki companion to the CssDiscussList mailing list. Includes tips and tricks and information on browser hacks, text sizing, and testing.
• CSS Newbie by Rob Glazebrook

• Real World Style by Mark Newhouse - CSS layouts that even work with NN4
• How to Develop with CSS

• Position Is Everything attempts to describe and demonstrate some of the bugs found in web browsers, and to show advanced CSS methods that work across all browsers.

Books

• The books by CSS guru Eric Meyer are highly recommended:
  • Eric Meyer on CSS
  • More Eric Meyer on CSS
  • CSS: The Definitive Guide, Third Edition
  • CSS Pocket Reference

• The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks by Rachel Andrew

• Designing with Web Standards, 2nd ed. by Jeffrey Zeldman

• Webdesign mit CSS, 2. Auflage by Jens Meiert and Ingo Helmdach. The book is in German, but you can view all designs on the web site and download the complete code. You'll also find English comments about the book in the author's blog.

• Transcending CSS - The Fine Art of Web Design by Andy Clarke

CSS references

• SitePoint CSS Reference

You can have this reference at your fingertips with SitePoint's CodeBurner plugin (Firebug extension), see Development:Firebug#CodeBurner.

There's also CodeBurner for Firefox, a standalone version of the original CodeBurner for Firebug, but with an independent interface, and more dedicated search tools.

• W3Schools
• W3C - In lots of languages.

Where can I find examples for the use of CSS?

• See Zen Garden, also available in different languages.

Where do I find information about the CSS used by Moodle?

• CSS - overview of the use of CSS by Moodle.
• CSS styles_ layout.css contains the layout specifications for various page elements.
• CSS styles_color.css contains the colors used in the page elements.
• CSS styles_fonts.css defines the fonts used in the page elements.

Which tools are useful for working with CSS?

• Firebug Extension for Firefox is the single most useful tool for inspecting the CSS of any web page and modifying it on the fly. See Firebug for further information.

• Web Developer Toolbar for Firefox. See also Category:Firefox extensions.

• Standalone CSS editor TopStyle. (You might get redirected to the new TopStyle 4 website, so here's a direct link to download the old free TopStyle 3 Lite version).

• The new PHP version of NetBeans comes with integrated CSS support. You find a host of documentation, tutorials, screen casts, etc. on their web site. See also NetBeans.

See also:

• Themes FAQ

Writing high performance CSS

• Optimize browser rendering
• Performance Impact of CSS Selectors