Jens Oliver Meiert

Why I Don’t Use CSS Preprocessors

Published on Dec 14, 2016 (updated Jun 6, 2021), filed under (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

Though late I wish to follow Roger as I couldn’t agree more with him: I don’t use CSS preprocessors, either (never so in my personal projects), because CSS preprocessors are like a solution in need of a problem to me, too.

My reasons almost perfectly match Roger’s:

The only exception to me, and there I disagree with Roger, is that we don’t only need but can actually have pretty DRY CSS without preprocessors. Not repeating ourselves should be first nature to us, a part of our craft, and as we can’t yet automate DRYing up CSS it’s on us to keep our style sheets efficient and maintainable.

As for CSS post-processors, I don’t use them, either, then, again at least not in my personal projects; yet that’s a different story, and I close with another hat tip to Roger. Listen to what he says 😊

About Me

Jens Oliver Meiert, on November 9, 2024.

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for small and large enterprises, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)