The CSS Problem

Published on Nov 12, 2012 (updated Feb 5, 2024), filed under development, css (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

This and many other posts are also available as a pretty, well-behaved ebook: On Web Development.

CSS is growing too large while CSS 2 has not nearly been understood by authors. This non-sustainable growth is a big problem for CSS.

What’s indicative of this problem? CSS 2 includes about 120 properties, but CSS 3 may drive this to more than 270. Then, authors make generous use of boilerplates and resets and variables (through LESS, SASS, or Closure Stylesheets), but they don’t even master selector grouping (seriously).

If I had one wish, the CSS Working Group focused only on critical features. If I had another one, the web developer community focused more on the optimal use of style sheets.

That is all I have to say about CSS these days. (Almost. I don’t publish much anymore, but if I do, I like to do it on Google+.)

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you’ve never heard of and companies you use every day, 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.)