Unveiling the Future of Frontend Development: Insights from the “State of CSS” Report
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of frontend development, one thing is certain – CSS is at the forefront of innovation. The “State of CSS” report provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of CSS, highlighting the features and modules that are gaining traction among developers. In this article, we’ll dive into the report’s key findings, explore the most in-demand CSS features, and speculate about what’s to come in the world of CSS.
Understanding the “State of CSS” Report
Launched in 2019, the “State of CSS” is an annual survey that captures the opinions of CSS users worldwide. The report covers a broad range of topics, including CSS libraries and frameworks, features, units, and selectors. With over 11,000 survey respondents, this report is the premier CSS-only developer survey, offering unparalleled insights into the minds of frontend developers.
Layouts: The Backbone of CSS
When it comes to layouts, CSS has undergone significant transformations over the past two decades. Today, we have a plethora of innovative solutions designed to help developers create stunning layouts. Let’s examine the top CSS layouts that are dominating the scene in 2020.
- Flexbox: A one-dimensional CSS module that allows for flexible box layouts, enabling alignment adjustments and expansion or shrinkage of boxes to fill unused space.
- Grid CSS: A two-dimensional layout system that enables the division of presentations into columns and rows, defining relationships between parts of a webpage in size or position.
- Multi-column Layout: A specification that enables the arrangement of content into columns, similar to a newspaper layout, with customizable column numbers, flow, and gap sizes.
Shapes and Graphics: The Art of Pure CSS
As CSS continues to mature, creating graphics and shapes with pure CSS has become increasingly accessible. With support for filters, effects, and other features like blend, CSS makes the job easier and more streamlined. Moreover, writing in pure CSS and HTML ensures accessibility, as screen readers and assistive devices can easily interpret pure CSS.
- Filters and Effects: A property that applies graphical effects, such as color shifts, to an element, used to adjust image renderings and backgrounds.
- Object Fit: A property used for the content of a replaced element, defining how the content should be resized to fit the parent container.
- Shapes: A property that applies geometric shapes available in CSS to floating elements in a presentation.
Interactions: Influencing Browser Behavior
JavaScript was once the only language for controlling browser behavior, but as CSS evolved, features like scroll snap became available. Let’s explore what the “State of CSS” survey respondents had to say about these properties.
- Scroll Snap: A CSS module that provides scroll snap positions for ports of scroll containers just after scrolling an element.
- overscroll-behavior: A property that defines an element’s behavior when it reaches a scroll while being scrolled.
- overflow-anchor: A property that disables the default browser’s scroll anchor, which automatically adjusts the scroll position to reduce content shifts.
Typography: The Rise of Variable Fonts
In CSS typography, variable fonts are gaining popularity. As we await true responsive type, let’s examine the most-used typography features in 2019.
- Font Face: A CSS at-rule that defines a custom font, loadable from local storage or a remote server.
- Variable Fonts: A feature that enables the use of many variations of a typeface in a single file, eliminating separate font files for every weight or style.
- Initial Letter: A property used to style the initial letters of texts in a presentation to designs such as sunken, raised, or dropped.
Animations and Transforms: The Future of CSS
Every CSS developer has used animations in one way or another. The three most-used features are transitions, transforms, and animations.
- Transitions: A CSS module that enables gradual transitions between values of CSS properties.
- Transforms: A CSS module that specifies how CSS-styled elements can be transformed in both two- and three-dimensional space.
- Animations: A CSS module that animates the values of CSS properties defined over time using keyframes.
The Future of CSS: Trends and Insights
The “State of CSS” survey reveals valuable insights about the properties and modules that are poised to take the CSS community by storm in 2020. With Flexbox, transitions, and transforms leading the charge, it’s clear that CSS users are focusing more on animations. As we look ahead, it will be fascinating to see how this trend progresses in 2020. What are your favorite CSS features of 2019? What are you most excited for in 2020?