CSS Snippets Every Designer Should Have
With so many new trends advancing every year it can be difficult keeping up with the industry. Website designers and frontend developers have been deeply ingrained into the newer CSS3 properties, determining the ultimate browser support and quirky hacks. But there are also brilliant CSS2 code snippets which have been unrequited in comparison.
For this article I want to present 50 handy CSS2/CSS3 code snippets for any web professional. These are perfect for storing in your development IDE of choice, or even keeping them saved in a small CSS file. Either way I am sure designers & developers can find some use for some of the snippets in this collection.
CSS Resets
html, body, div, span, applet, object, iframe, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, blockquote, pre, a, abbr, acronym, address, big, cite, code, del, dfn, em, img, ins, kbd, q, s, samp, small, strike, strong, sub, sup, tt, var, b, u, i, center, dl, dt, dd, ol, ul, li, fieldset, form, label, legend, table, caption, tbody, tfoot, thead, tr, th, td, article, aside, canvas, details, embed, figure, figcaption, footer, header, hgroup, menu, nav, output, ruby, section, summary, time, mark, audio, video {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
border: 0;
font-size: 100%;
font: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline;
outline: none;
-webkit-box-sizing: border-box;
-moz-box-sizing: border-box;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
html { height: 101%; }
body { font-size: 62.5%; line-height: 1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; }
article, aside, details, figcaption, figure, footer, header, hgroup, menu, nav, section { display: block; }
ol, ul { list-style: none; }
blockquote, q { quotes: none; }
blockquote:before, blockquote:after, q:before, q:after { content: ''; content: none; }
strong { font-weight: bold; }
table { border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0; }
img { border: 0; max-width: 100%; }
p { font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.0em; color: #333; }
Basic CSS browser resets are some of the most common snippets you’ll find online. I have included a bit for responsive images and set all core elements to border-box, keeping margins and padding measurements aligned properly.
Classic CSS Clearfix
.clearfix:after { content: "."; display: block; clear: both; visibility: hidden; line-height: 0; height: 0; }
.clearfix { display: inline-block; }
html[xmlns] .clearfix { display: block; }
* html .clearfix { height: 1%; }
2011 Updated Clearfix
.clearfix:before, .container:after { content: ""; display: table; }
.clearfix:after { clear: both; }
/* IE 6/7 */
.clearfix { zoom: 1; }
From what I can tell there isn’t a major difference in rendering between this newer version and the classic version. Both of these classes will effectively clear your floats, and they should work in all modern browsers and even legacy Internet Explorer 6-8.
Cross-Browser Transparency
.transparent {
filter: alpha(opacity=50); /* internet explorer */
-khtml-opacity: 0.5; /* khtml, old safari */
-moz-opacity: 0.5; /* mozilla, netscape */
opacity: 0.5; /* fx, safari, opera */
}
Some of the newer CSS3 properties have pampered us into thinking they may be applied everywhere. Unfortunately opacity is one such example where CSS still requires some minor updates. Appending the filter property should handle any older versions of IE with grace.
CSS Blockquote Template
blockquote {
background: #f9f9f9;
border-left: 10px solid #ccc;
margin: 1.5em 10px;
padding: .5em 10px;
quotes: "\201C""\201D""\2018""\2019";
}
blockquote:before {
color: #ccc;
content: open-quote;
font-size: 4em;
line-height: .1em;
margin-right: .25em;
vertical-align: -.4em;
}
blockquote p {
display: inline;
}
Not everybody needs to use blockquotes inside their website. But I feel these are an excellent HTML element for separating quoted or repeated content within blogs or webpages. This basic chunk of CSS offers a default style for your blockquotes so they don’t appear as drab and bland.
Rounded Corners
#container {
-webkit-border-radius: 4px 3px 6px 10px;
-moz-border-radius: 4px 3px 6px 10px;
-o-border-radius: 4px 3px 6px 10px;
border-radius: 4px 3px 6px 10px;
}
/* alternative syntax broken into each line */
#container {
-webkit-border-top-left-radius: 4px;
-webkit-border-top-right-radius: 3px;
-webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 6px;
-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 10px;
-moz-border-radius-topleft: 4px;
-moz-border-radius-topright: 3px;
-moz-border-radius-bottomright: 6px;
-moz-border-radius-bottomleft: 10px;
}
Most developers are familiar with the CSS3 rounded corners syntax. But how would you go about setting different values for each of the corners? Save this code snippet and you should never run into the problem again! I’ve included both a condensed version and a longer base with each corner radius broken down into a different property.
Media Queries
/* Smartphones (portrait and landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen
and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) {
/* Styles */
}
/* Smartphones (landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-width : 321px) {
/* Styles */
}
/* Smartphones (portrait) ----------- */
@media only screen and (max-width : 320px) {
/* Styles */
}
/* iPads (portrait and landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) {
/* Styles */
}
/* iPads (landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : landscape) {
/* Styles */
}
/* iPads (portrait) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : portrait) {
/* Styles */
}
/* Desktops and laptops ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-width : 1224px) {
/* Styles */
}
/* Large screens ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-width : 1824px) {
/* Styles */
}
/* iPhone 4 ----------- */
@media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio:1.5), only screen and (min-device-pixel-ratio:1.5) {
/* Styles */
}
Font Stacks
/* Times New Roman-based serif */
font-family: Cambria, "Hoefler Text", Utopia, "Liberation Serif", "Nimbus Roman No9 L Regular", Times, "Times New Roman", serif;
/* A modern Georgia-based serif */
font-family: Constantia, "Lucida Bright", Lucidabright, "Lucida Serif", Lucida, "DejaVu Serif," "Bitstream Vera Serif", "Liberation Serif", Georgia, serif;
/*A more traditional Garamond-based serif */
font-family: "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, Palladio, "URW Palladio L", "Book Antiqua", Baskerville, "Bookman Old Style", "Bitstream Charter", "Nimbus Roman No9 L", Garamond, "Apple Garamond", "ITC Garamond Narrow", "New Century Schoolbook", "Century Schoolbook", "Century Schoolbook L", Georgia, serif;
/*The Helvetica/Arial-based sans serif */
font-family: Frutiger, "Frutiger Linotype", Univers, Calibri, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", "Myriad Pro", Myriad, "DejaVu Sans Condensed", "Liberation Sans", "Nimbus Sans L", Tahoma, Geneva, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
/*The Verdana-based sans serif */
font-family: Corbel, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", "DejaVu Sans", "Bitstream Vera Sans", "Liberation Sans", Verdana, "Verdana Ref", sans-serif;
/*The Trebuchet-based sans serif */
font-family: "Segoe UI", Candara, "Bitstream Vera Sans", "DejaVu Sans", "Bitstream Vera Sans", "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, "Verdana Ref", sans-serif;
/*The heavier "Impact" sans serif */
font-family: Impact, Haettenschweiler, "Franklin Gothic Bold", Charcoal, "Helvetica Inserat", "Bitstream Vera Sans Bold", "Arial Black", sans-serif;
/*The monospace */
font-family: Consolas, "Andale Mono WT", "Andale Mono", "Lucida Console", "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "DejaVu Sans Mono", "Bitstream Vera Sans Mono", "Liberation Mono", "Nimbus Mono L", Monaco, "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
Custom Text Selection
::selection { background: #e2eae2; }
::-moz-selection { background: #e2eae2; }
::-webkit-selection { background: #e2eae2; }
Some newer web browsers will allow you to define the highlight color on your webpage. This is set to light blue by default, but you can setup any color value which tickles your fancy. This snippet includes the typical ::selection target along with vendor prefixes for Webkit and Mozilla.
Hiding H1 Text for Logo
h1 {
text-indent: -9999px;
margin: 0 auto;
width: 320px;
height: 85px;
background: transparent url("images/logo.png") no-repeat scroll;
}
You can setup an H1 tag which also has your website’s name in plaintext for SEO purposes. But using CSS we can move this text so it isn’t visible, and replace it with a custom logo image.
Polaroid Image Border
img.polaroid {
background:#000; /*Change this to a background image or remove*/
border:solid #fff;
border-width:6px 6px 20px 6px;
box-shadow:1px 1px 5px #333; /* Standard blur at 5px. Increase for more depth */
-webkit-box-shadow:1px 1px 5px #333;
-moz-box-shadow:1px 1px 5px #333;
height:200px; /*Set to height of your image or desired div*/
width:200px; /*Set to width of your image or desired div*/
}
Applying this basic snippet will allow you to implement .polaroid classes onto your images. This will create the old photo-style effect with a large white border and some slight box shadows. You’ll want to update the width/height values to match that of your image dimensions and website layout.
Anchor Link Pseudo Classes
a:link { color: blue; }
a:visited { color: purple; }
a:hover { color: red; }
a:active { color: yellow; }
Most CSS developers know about the anchor link styles and :hover effects. But I wanted to include this small code snippet as a reference for newcomers. These are the four default states for an anchor link, and also a few other HTML elements. Keep this handy until you can memorize some of the more obscure ones.
Fancy CSS3 Pull-Quotes
.has-pullquote:before {
/* Reset metrics. */
padding: 0;
border: none;
/* Content */
content: attr(data-pullquote);
/* Pull out to the right, modular scale based margins. */
float: right;
width: 320px;
margin: 12px -140px 24px 36px;
/* Baseline correction */
position: relative;
top: 5px;
/* Typography (30px line-height equals 25% incremental leading) */
font-size: 23px;
line-height: 30px;
}
.pullquote-adelle:before {
font-family: "adelle-1", "adelle-2";
font-weight: 100;
top: 10px !important;
}
.pullquote-helvetica:before {
font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: bold;
top: 7px !important;
}
.pullquote-facit:before {
font-family: "facitweb-1", "facitweb-2", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: bold;
top: 7px !important;
}
Fullscreen Backgrounds with CSS3
html {
background: url('images/bg.jpg') no-repeat center center fixed;
-webkit-background-size: cover;
-moz-background-size: cover;
-o-background-size: cover;
background-size: cover;
}
Vertically Centered Content
.container {
min-height: 6.5em;
display: table-cell;
vertical-align: middle;
}
Using the margin: 0 auto technique it is very easy to embed content into the horizontal center of your page. However vertical content is a lot harder, especially considering scrollbars and other methods. But this is a pure CSS solution which should work flawlessly without JavaScript.
CSS3 Gradients Template
#colorbox {
background: #629721;
background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#83b842), to(#629721));
background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #83b842, #629721);
background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #83b842, #629721);
background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #83b842, #629721);
background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #83b842, #629721);
background-image: linear-gradient(top, #83b842, #629721);
}
CSS3 gradients are another wondrous part of the newer specifications. Many of the vendor prefixes are difficult to memorize, so this code snippet should save you a bit of time on each project.
