---
visibility: public
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# Protips

**repo:** [AllThingsSmitty/css-protips](https://github.com/AllThingsSmitty/css-protips)  
**category:** [[front-end-development|Front-End Development]]
**related:** [[css|Css]]

---

# CSS Protips [![Awesome](https://awesome.re/badge-flat.svg)](https://awesome.re)

A collection of tips to help take your CSS skills pro.

> [!TIP]
> For other great lists check out [@sindresorhus](https://github.com/sindresorhus/)'s curated list of [awesome lists](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome/).

## Contents

- [Protips](#protips)
- [Support](#support)
- [Translations](#translations)
- [Contribution Guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md)

## Protips

1. [Use a CSS Reset](#use-a-css-reset)
1. [Inherit `box-sizing`](#inherit-box-sizing)
1. [Use `unset` Instead of Resetting All Properties](#use-unset-instead-of-resetting-all-properties)
1. [Use `:not()` to Apply/Unapply Borders on Navigation](#use-not-to-applyunapply-borders-on-navigation)
1. [Check if Font Is Installed Locally](#check-if-font-is-installed-locally)
1. [Add `line-height` to `body`](#add-line-height-to-body)
1. [Set `:focus` for Form Elements](#set-focus-for-form-elements)
1. [Vertically-Center Anything](#vertically-center-anything)
1. [Use `aspect-ratio` Instead of Height/Width](#use-aspect-ratio-instead-of-heightwidth)
1. [Comma-Separated Lists](#comma-separated-lists)
1. [Select Items Using Negative `nth-child`](#select-items-using-negative-nth-child)
1. [Use SVG for Icons](#use-svg-for-icons)
1. [Use the "Lobotomized Owl" Selector](#use-the-lobotomized-owl-selector)
1. [Use `max-height` for Pure CSS Sliders](#use-max-height-for-pure-css-sliders)
1. [Equal-Width Table Cells](#equal-width-table-cells)
1. [Get Rid of Margin Hacks With Flexbox](#get-rid-of-margin-hacks-with-flexbox)
1. [Use Attribute Selectors with Empty Links](#use-attribute-selectors-with-empty-links)
1. [Control Specificity Better With `:is()`](#control-specificity-better-with-is)
1. [Style "Default" Links](#style-default-links)
1. [Intrinsic Ratio Boxes](#intrinsic-ratio-boxes)
1. [Style Broken Images](#style-broken-images)
1. [Use `rem` for Global Sizing; Use `em` for Local Sizing](#use-rem-for-global-sizing-use-em-for-local-sizing)
1. [Hide Autoplay Videos That Aren't Muted](#hide-autoplay-videos-that-arent-muted)
1. [Use `:root` for Flexible Type](#use-root-for-flexible-type)
1. [Set `font-size` on Form Elements for a Better Mobile Experience](#set-font-size-on-form-elements-for-a-better-mobile-experience)
1. [Use Pointer Events to Control Mouse Events](#use-pointer-events-to-control-mouse-events)
1. [Set `display: none` on Line Breaks Used as Spacing](#set-display-none-on-line-breaks-used-as-spacing)
1. [Use `:empty` to Hide Empty HTML Elements](#use-empty-to-hide-empty-html-elements)
1. [Use `margin-inline` instead of `margin`](#use-margin-inline-instead-of-margin)

### Use a CSS Reset

CSS resets help enforce style consistency across different browsers with a clean slate for styling elements. There are plenty of reset patterns to find, or you can use a more simplified reset approach:

```css
*,
*::before,
*::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}
```

Now elements will be stripped of margins and padding, and `box-sizing` lets you manage layouts with the CSS box model.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/kkrkLL)

> [!TIP]
> If you follow the [Inherit `box-sizing`](#inherit-box-sizing) tip below you might opt to not include the `box-sizing` property in your CSS reset.

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Inherit `box-sizing`

Let `box-sizing` be inherited from `html`:

```css
html {
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

*,
*::before,
*::after {
  box-sizing: inherit;
}
```

This makes it easier to change `box-sizing` in plugins or other components that leverage other behavior.

#### [Demo](https://css-tricks.com/inheriting-box-sizing-probably-slightly-better-best-practice/)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use `unset` Instead of Resetting All Properties

When resetting an element's properties, it's not necessary to reset each individual property:

```css
button {
  background: none;
  border: none;
  color: inherit;
  font: inherit;
  outline: none;
  padding: 0;
}
```

You can specify all of an element's properties using the `all` shorthand. Setting the value to `unset` changes an element's properties to their initial values:

```css
button {
  all: unset;
}
```

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use `:not()` to Apply/Unapply Borders on Navigation

Instead of putting on the border...

```css
/* add border */
.nav li {
  border-right: 1px solid #666;
}
```

...and then taking it off the last element...

```css
/* remove border */
.nav li:last-child {
  border-right: none;
}
```

...use the `:not()` pseudo-class to only apply to the elements you want:

```css
.nav li:not(:last-child) {
  border-right: 1px solid #666;
}
```

Here, the CSS selector is read as a human would describe it.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/LkymvO)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Check if Font Is Installed Locally

You can check if a font is installed locally before fetching it remotely, which is a good performance tip, too.

```css
@font-face {
  font-family: "Dank Mono";
  src:
    /* Full name */ local("Dank Mono"), /* Postscript name */ local("Dank Mono"),
    /* Otherwise, download it! */ url("//...a.server/fonts/DankMono.woff");
}

code {
  font-family: "Dank Mono", system-ui-monospace;
}
```

H/T to Adam Argyle for sharing this protip and [demo](https://codepen.io/argyleink/pen/VwYJpgR).

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Add `line-height` to `body`

You don't need to add `line-height` to each `<p>`, `<h*>`, _et al_. separately. Instead, add it to `body`:

```css
body {
  line-height: 1.5;
}
```

This way textual elements can inherit from `body` easily.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/VjbdYd)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Set `:focus` for Form Elements

Sighted keyboard users rely on focus to determine where keyboard events go in the page. Make focus for form elements stand out and consistent than a browser's default implementation:

```css
a:focus,
button:focus,
input:focus,
select:focus,
textarea:focus {
  box-shadow: none;
  outline: #000 dotted 2px;
  outline-offset: 0.05em;
}
```

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/ePzoOP/)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Vertically-Center Anything

No, it's not black magic, you really can center elements vertically. You can do this with flexbox...

```css
html,
body {
  height: 100%;
}

body {
  align-items: center;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
}
```

...and also with CSS Grid:

```css
body {
  display: grid;
  height: 100vh;
  place-items: center;
}
```

> [!TIP]
> Want to center something else? Vertically, horizontally...anything, anytime, anywhere? CSS-Tricks has [a nice write-up](https://css-tricks.com/centering-css-complete-guide/) on doing all of that.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/GqmGqZ)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use `aspect-ratio` Instead of Height/Width

The `aspect-ratio` property allows you to easily size elements and maintain consistent width-to-height ratio. This is incredibly useful in responsive web design to prevent layout shift. Use `object-fit` with it to prevent disrupting the layout if the height/width values of images changes.

```css
img {
  aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; /* width / height */
  object-fit: cover;
}
```

Learn more about the `aspect-ratio` property in this [web.dev post](https://web.dev/articles/aspect-ratio).

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/MWxwoNx/)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Comma-Separated Lists

Make list items look like a real, comma-separated list:

```css
ul > li:not(:last-child)::after {
  content: ",";
}
```

Use the `:not()` pseudo-class and no comma will be added to the last item.

> [!NOTE]
> This tip may not be ideal for accessibility, specifically screen readers. And copy/paste from the browser doesn't work with CSS-generated content. Proceed with caution.

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Select Items Using Negative `nth-child`

Use negative `nth-child` in CSS to select items 1 through n.

```css
li {
  display: none;
}

/* select items 1 through 3 and display them */
li:nth-child(-n + 3) {
  display: block;
}
```

Or, since you've already learned a little about [using `:not()`](#use-not-to-applyunapply-borders-on-navigation), try:

```css
/* select all items except the first 3 and display them */
li:not(:nth-child(-n + 3)) {
  display: block;
}
```

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/WxjKZp)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use SVG for Icons

There's no reason not to use SVG for icons:

```css
.logo {
  background: url("logo.svg");
}
```

SVG scales well for all resolution types and is supported in all browsers [back to IE9](http://caniuse.com/#search=svg). Ditch your .png, .jpg, or .gif-jif-whatev files.

> [!NOTE]
> If you have SVG icon-only buttons for sighted users and the SVG fails to load, this will help maintain accessibility:

```css
.no-svg .icon-only::after {
  content: attr(aria-label);
}
```

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use the "Lobotomized Owl" Selector

It may have a strange name but using the universal selector (`*`) with the adjacent sibling selector (`+`) can provide a powerful CSS capability:

```css
* + * {
  margin-top: 1.5em;
}
```

In this example, all elements in the flow of the document that follow other elements will receive `margin-top: 1.5em`.

> [!TIP]
> For more on the "lobotomized owl" selector, read [Heydon Pickering's post](http://alistapart.com/article/axiomatic-css-and-lobotomized-owls) on _A List Apart_.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/grRvWq)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use `max-height` for Pure CSS Sliders

Implement CSS-only sliders using `max-height` with overflow hidden:

```css
.slider {
  max-height: 200px;
  overflow-y: hidden;
  width: 300px;
}

.slider:hover {
  max-height: 600px;
  overflow-y: scroll;
}
```

The element expands to the `max-height` value on hover and the slider displays as a result of the overflow.

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Equal-Width Table Cells

Tables can be a pain to work with. Try using `table-layout: fixed` to keep cells at equal width:

```css
.calendar {
  table-layout: fixed;
}
```

Pain-free table layouts.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/jALALm)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Get Rid of Margin Hacks With Flexbox

When working with column gutters you can get rid of `nth-`, `first-`, and `last-child` hacks by using flexbox's `space-between` property:

```css
.list {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-between;
}

.list .person {
  flex-basis: 23%;
}
```

Now column gutters always appear evenly-spaced.

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Use Attribute Selectors with Empty Links

Display links when the `<a>` element has no text value but the `href` attribute has a link:

```css
a[href^="http"]:empty::before {
  content: attr(href);
}
```

That's really convenient.

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/zBzXRx)

> [!NOTE]
> This tip may not be ideal for accessibility, specifically screen readers. And copy/paste from the browser doesn't work with CSS-generated content. Proceed with caution.

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Control Specificity Better with `:is()`

The `:is()` pseudo-class is used to target multiple selectors at once, reducing redundancy and enhancing code readability. This is incredibly useful for writing large selectors in a more compact form.

```css
:is(section, article, aside, nav) :is(h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) {
  color: green;
}
```

The above ruleset is equivalent to the following number selector rules...

```css
section h1,
section h2,
section h3,
section h4,
section h5,
section h6,
article h1,
article h2,
article h3,
article h4,
article h5,
article h6,
aside h1,
aside h2,
aside h3,
aside h4,
aside h5,
aside h6,
nav h1,
nav h2,
nav h3,
nav h4,
nav h5,
nav h6 {
  color: green;
}
```

#### [Demo](https://codepen.io/AllThingsSmitty/pen/rNRVxdx)

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Style "Default" Links

Add a style for "default" links:

```css
a[href]:not([class]) {
  color: #008000;
  text-decoration: underline;
}
```

Now links that are inserted via a CMS, which don't usually have a `class` attribute, will have a distinction without generically affecting the cascade.

<sup>[Back to top](#contents)</sup>

### Intrinsic Ratio Boxes

To create a box with an intrinsic ratio, all you need to do is apply top or bottom padding to a div:

```css
.container {
  height: 0;
  padding-bottom: 20%;
  position: relative;
}

.container div {
  border: 2px dashed #ddd;
  height: 100%;
  left: 0;
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  width: 100%;
}
```

---
*truncated — [full list on GitHub](https://github.com/AllThingsSmitty/css-protips)*

---
