TL;DR: This blog uses code examples to explore five of the best CSS styles and features for web development: container queries, subgrid, pseudo-classes, logical properties, and lab color space. They enhance responsiveness, simplify layouts, and improve design consistency.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a well-known styling language used to style webpages. With CSS, you can customize HTML elements by adding space; defining colors, font sizes, and font styles; and more. CSS has improved a lot within the past few years with new features to improve the developer experience.

So, this article will discuss five innovative CSS features you can use in your next project.

1. Container Queries

CSS container queries introduced a new approach to responsiveness. Previously, we used media queries to create UIs that adapted to different screen sizes. But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. There were issues in maintenance, performance, flexibility, and style overlapping.

Container queries resolve these issues by allowing developers to customize elements depending on their parent container size. Since this method doesn’t depend on the viewport size, it makes the HTML components fully modular and self-contained.

Following is a simple example of how container queries work.

.wrapper {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 2fr 1fr;
  gap: 20px;
}
@container (min-width: 500px) {
  .profile-card {
    grid-template-columns: 150px 1fr;
    grid-template-rows: auto 1fr;
    align-items: start;
    gap: 20px;
  }

  .profile-card header,
  .profile-card .bio {
    grid-column: 2;
  }

  .profile-card .profile-image {
    grid-row: 1 / 3;
    grid-column: 1;
  }
}

This container query adjusts the layout of the profile-card when its width reaches 500px or more. It changes the card from a stacked layout (with the image on top) to a two-column layout where the image appears on the left and the text content aligns on the right.

Refer to the following images.

Container queries are very useful in design systems where components need to adapt based on their immediate environment rather than the entire viewport. However, container queries still lack full browser support. If your users are using any unsupported browsers or older versions, they might face styling issues.

Note: Take a look at this working demo for CSS container queries.

2. Subgrid

Subgrid is an exciting addition to the CSS grid layout model that allows you to inherit the grid structure of the parent grid container in child grid items. In simple words, a subgrid allows you to align child elements according to the rows or columns of the parent grid. With this method, you can easily create complex nested grids without using nested grid overrides.

In the following code example, the layout uses a subgrid approach within a list.

.product-wrapper {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(300px, 1fr));
}
.product-card {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-rows: subgrid; /* Allows the nested grid to align directly with the parent grid */
}

In the example, the product-wrapper creates a flexible grid layout to control the number of columns based on the container width. Then, each product-card aligns its rows directly with the grids defined by the product-wrapper.

Subgrid is particularly useful for e-commerce sites where product cards may contain varying amounts of content but must maintain a uniform appearance.

Refer to the following images.

Note: Check out the working demo for CSS subgrid.

3. Pseudo-Classes

Pseudo-classes such as :hover, :focus, and :first-child are options that select HTML elements based on their state rather than their hierarchy or sequence in the document. These selectors allow developers to create more interactive and responsive UIs without using JavaScript.

The following code example demonstrates several pseudo-classes in action.

// HTML
...
.hover-section:hover {
  background-color: rgb(82, 11, 145); /* Changes the background color on hover */
  color: white;
}
.input-section input[type="text"]:focus {
  border-color: orange; /* Highlights the input field when focused */
  background-color: lightyellow;
}
.list-section li:first-child {
  color: green; /* Styles the first item in a list */
}
.list-section li:last-child {
  color: red; /* Styles the last item in a list */
}

This CSS code example shows how to enhance user interaction by changing styles based on user actions, such as hovering or focusing on elements, and how to style specific children of a container.

These pseudo-classes are pretty useful when developing forms, navigation menus, and interactive content that requires visual cues to guide user interactions.

Refer to the following image.

Note: Check out this working demo for pseudo-classes.

4. Logical properties

CSS logical properties allow developers to manage layout and spacing in a direction-agnostic way. In other words, with CSS logical properties, you can use different writing modes, such as left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL), without changing the structural code.

Here’s an example that uses logical properties for layout adjustments.

.lab-gradient-generator {
  margin-inline-start: 2rem; /* Responsive margin that adjusts based on text direction */
}
.lab-gradient-display {
  background: linear-gradient(
    to right, 
    lab(var(--l-start) var(--a-start) var(--b-start)), 
    lab(var(--l-end) var(--a-end) var(--b-end))
  ); /* Creates a gradient using LAB colors */
}

In this code example, margin-inline-start uses logical properties to ensure margins are always on the content starting side, adapting automatically to different writing systems. The background property with a LAB color gradient illustrates the use of logical properties in defining visually consistent color transitions.

Logical properties are particularly useful in global apps that require support for multiple languages, keeping the layouts the same regardless of directionality.

Refer to the following image.

Note: Refer to the working demo of how CSS logical properties can be used with internationalization.

5. Lab Color Space

Lab color space allows you to specify colors to align more closely with human vision. This method provides a broader and more precise range of colors, facilitating greater consistency across different displays.

Here’s a code example showcasing the usage of lab color space in CSS.

.color-strip:nth-child(1) {
  --l: 90%;
  --a: -80;
  --b: 80;
  background-color: lab(var(--l) var(--a) var(--b));
}
.color-strip:nth-child(2) {
  --l: 75%;
  --a: -40;
  --b: 40;
  background-color: lab(var(--l) var(--a) var(--b));
}
.color-strip:nth-child(3) {
  --l: 60%;
  --a: 0;
  --b: 0;
  background-color: lab(var(--l) var(--a) var(--b));
}
.color-strip:nth-child(4) {
  --l: 45%;
  --a: 40;
  --b: -40;
  background-color: lab(var(--l) var(--a) var(--b));
}
.color-strip:nth-child(5) {
  --l: 30%;
  --a: 80;
  --b: -80;
  background-color: lab(var(--l) var(--a) var(--b));
}

This code example sets up a series of divs (color-strip), each with a unique background color defined in the lab color space. It shows how lab colors produce a variety of hues and shades that are consistent across various displays.

Lab colors are invaluable in digital design, particularly in industries where color accuracy is critical, like digital art, online commerce, and brand design.

Refer to the following image.

Note: For more details, refer to the lab color space demo.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! These CSS features offer unique advantages and new possibilities to improve the functionality and the user experience of your app. They also improve the developer experience, since these features simplify complex tasks for them.

So, make sure to try these examples yourself and implement them in your next web app to make it a modern one.

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