CSS

Did you miss the presentation? Or would you just like a refresher? Here is a brief synopsis of topics discussed:

• Dev Team From Hell: A Designer’s Story

  A story submitted by Nate Klaiber about a project gone horribly wrong.

• 10 Things That Help Improve Your Dev Life!

  Based on results from a small survey given to web designers & developers (that work alone or on a team), these are some of the most popularly suggested techniques that help maximize efficiency and maintainability. Some items may seem obvious to the advanced CSS expert, but this will hopefully be a good guide for others.

  1. Link/Import Those Stylesheets!
  2. Use Semantic Class Names & ID's.
  3. Take Advantage of Commenting.
  4. Avoid Using Hacks.
  5. Organize Selectors & Declarations.
  6. Separate Style Types.
  7. Balance Readability & Optimization.
  8. Master Your Text Editor.
  9. Use Version Control.
  10. Create & Maintain a Style Guide.

• 5 Hot Stylesheets!

  For a comparison of stylesheets, two news sites (a newspaper and a community-based site), two personal websites, and a social network were chosen:

  1. The New York Times
  2. Newsvine
  3. Shaun Inman
  4. 110am. A Minute Before
  5. i'm in like with you

Recommended Books

• The Art & Science of CSS
• Beginning CSS Web Development: From Novice to Professional
• The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks
• CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions
• Pro CSS Techniques

Other Links

• CSS Organization Tip 1: Flags
• Top CSS Tips
• CSS tips and tricks, Part 1
• CSS tips and tricks, Part 2
• Efficient CSS with shorthand properties
• CSS Crib Sheet
• Ten CSS tricks you may not know
• WebVisions

Also, check out some of the CSS-related articles at 24 Ways, A List Apart, Digital Web, SitePoint and Think Vitamin.

Jina Bolton is a co-author for The Art & Science of CSS. Jina has consulted for various agencies and organizations including the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative and Mass.Gov. She holds a BFA in Computer Arts and Graphic Design from Memphis College of Art, and was featured in CSS Professional Style and Web Designing magazine. Jina enjoys traveling, is learning Italian, and considers herself a sushi-enthusiast. E-mail Jina at .

Thank You

A heart-felt grazie goes to the following people who helped Jina in her research for this presentation:

• Dan Rubin
• Dustin Diaz
• Faruk Ateş
• Jonathan Snook
• Mike Stickel
• Nate Klaiber
• Paul Boag
• Patrick Haney
• P.J. Kelly
• Sean Madden
• Steve Smith
• Tom Watson

This site was designed by Jina Bolton (of course), while experimenting with some of the techniques recommended by her friends listed here. The photo used for the “cover” was purchased from iStockPhoto. Jina’s photograph was taken by Arick Elion. This site is hosted by (mt) Media Temple

Disclaimer

All content on this site is not necessarily the opinion or policy of her employer, affiliated/associated companies/persons mentioned, or of the monster that hides under her bed.