CSS Tools That Change the Way We Use Code

Typography Tools

Typography can become one of the most complex elements of CSS, managing how your website displays text and its appearance to site visitors. Although typography includes many simple features such as font and italics, features such as spacing and text alignment can prove more difficult to control to suit your vision. However, with must-have typography tools such as text designers, you will be able to communicate with your audience without the difficulties of some CSS programs. Tools such as CSS Type Set and Gridlover are excellent examples of tools that give you back the control that CSS can sometimes leave you without, giving you the autonomy to design at your will without the complexities of a difficult system. While CSS Type Set allows you to test different fonts and play with different layouts and designs, Gridlover is one of the best tools to use for spacing issues and for grappling with headings and sub-headings.

LESS

While CSS has been the easiest way to style web pages since its conception, CSS can often be complex and difficult to manage with its often convoluted style sheets. This can make understanding CSS more misleading than if the stylesheets were shorter as this would allow you to see all your programming at one glance and change it in a few simple actions. However, using stylesheets can be made easier by using LESS, a CSS compatible language that can be used to shorten the length of your coding and so make it simpler to create and change. LESS is an extension of the usual CSS stylesheets and gives you multiple new functions such as namespaces and nested rules which can then be converted back to CSS. Read more here to find about how to use LESS and for an in-depth discussion of its different benefits and functions.

Coding Editors

Coding editors can also be a great way to change your website’s design without the hassle of playing around with complicated coding systems yourself. Coding editors give you the freedom to create your own code but within a pre-created framework that allows you to code faster and find errors more easily. Coding editors also give you access to a wide range of new tools that work as add-ons to your CSS. This is especially important if CSS is being used by businesses and professional web designers as they allow you to modify your coding more accurately and with extra efficiency. Many of these applications are free, professional designers such as PSPad which can create websites for you from scratch and Notepad++ which is available in several languages and has features such as syntax highlighting and auto-completion.

Layout Generators

CSS generators help you to create easy websites from scratch when you have difficult time restraints or little previous knowledge of CSS, giving beginners the chance to design their own websites using code. The most basic of these is the CSS Layout Generator, which can shape your site’s structure towards your intentions. By selecting the design elements that you want your website to have, the generator then uses this information to help you create your ideal website using design elements you may not have been able to create a template for yourself. Therefore, layout generators enable you to create the basis of your website at a few clicks of a button, making both website design and CSS easier to understand and speedier to use.

Frameworks

CSS frameworks are pre-formatted for ease of installation and allow you to create software that works with CSS stylesheets. Frameworks include all the elements mentioned above such as layout and typography, giving you the ability to create a website all in one from a tried and tested format. One of the advantages of using frameworks instead of struggling with the design yourself is that using these gives you the basics of your website without having to build it from scratch. This is perfect for those that are not familiar with CSS and HTML or for beginners that use CSS for a range of different purposes from blogging to professional business. Frameworks can be found easily online, such as applications like Bootstrap and Foundation 3, of which you should pick the one that works best for your website and its purpose. There are many different elements that you have to keep in mind when choosing the right framework for you, from ease of use to how it works alongside your other computer systems. Using frameworks is one of the best ways to lessen the stress of CSS and enable your websites to look clean and professional without the doubt of using complicated coding systems.

CSS tools have been created ever since CSS’s conception and their uses and abilities have only increased over time, allowing more and more people to access the control and design elements that understanding code provides. The tools listed are just the tip of the iceberg in CSS design and development tools that are perfect for all CSS beginners. Using CSS does not have to be exclusive to tech professionals. By using applications that are designed to make complex coding easier to understand, designing your website can be done at a couple of clicks of a button and within a matter of minutes.