8 Practical Applications of CSS and How to Carve a Great Career in CSS

What Is CSS?

Along with JavaScript and HTML, CSS is one of the three primary keystones of web technologies. It is a design language that helps to determine the visual layout, structure, and esthetics of a website. While HTML forms the skeleton of a website, CSS works on its front-end, making it pleasing to the eyes and easier to navigate. 

With businesses and technologies becoming more user-driven than ever, user experience has taken center stage in the design of modern products and services. In the hands of a developer skilled in CSS, the user experience of a website can grow to stunning heights.   

Practical Applications of CSS

The use of CSS in web development is varied. Some of the most prominent applications of CSS include:

Controlling Effects and Flash Animation

The use of CSS streamlines the process of placing and handling flash elements on websites. By applying the built-in Flash files, styling sheets, and frameworks in CSS, developers can easily create animations, make movies, and update effects on web pages.

Managing Dynamic Web Templates

Dynamic web templates are HTML-based parent copies of web pages that contain various page elements and settings, such as styles, page layouts, graphics, and text. The use of CSS frameworks and extensions enables the creation of dynamic web templates, which allow developers to seamlessly add, edit, and manage the dynamic elements of websites that help style web pages.

e-Commerce

One of the key applications of CSS involves the development and designing of eCommerce platforms from scratch. From large-scale portals to small sites, every eCommerce platform today uses CSS files to heighten the visual appeal and user experience of their websites.

Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other major social media networks have all used Cascading Style Sheets to create dynamic websites that look great on desktop web browsers and mobile devices alike. Customizing the user interface and making design changes from an end-user perspective are the primary applications of CSS on social media platforms.

Image File Management

Features integrated into CSS frameworks not only allow developers to format, edit, and update different image formats but also enable image cropping and the creation of watermarks and thumbnails. Styling, editing, and updating a wide variety of image types, such as png, gif, and jpeg, were challenging tasks before CSS made its appearance in the web development domain.

Ease of Accessibility

When it comes to easy accessibility, Cascading Style Sheets provide unmatched solutions that facilitate seamless delivery of web pages, tailored to work and look good on different devices and browsers, for instance, PDAs and voice-enabled browsers. The ease of accessibility offered by CSS has a crucial impact on the feel and appearance of web pages from both business-specific and end-user perspectives.

Website Maintenance

One of the most common applications of CSS is website maintenance. Cascading Style Sheets play a vital role when teams perform website maintenance, making the entire process a lot faster and easier. Websites maintained with CSS files are more responsive and flexible, improving the overall performance, look, and feel.

Server-Side and End-User Representation

One of the crucial applications of CSS is to provide end-user and server-side support. CSS files can interact directly with both the end-user and the server-side for interface styling purposes. This helps optimize the web representation efficiently.

Applications of CSS Benefits

Now that we have an idea of the applications of CSS let's take a look at the benefits that Cascading Style Sheets offer. Some of the key benefits of using CSS are:

Faster Page Loading

The more the code, the slower the page loads. CSS enables web development with less code by allowing developers to use only a single CSS rule that can be applied to all occurrences in an HTML document.

Improved User Experience

Cascading Style Sheets not only delivers web pages that are visually pleasing but also helps developers do user-friendly page formatting. When text, images, and buttons are well-organized, the user experience automatically gets enriched.

Accelerated Development

With a single series of code in CSS, web developers can write specific page formatting rules and apply them to multiple web pages. The beauty of CSS is that developers can replicate a cascading style sheet across multiple web pages, which, in turn, speeds up the development process.

Simplified Layout Changes

Making changes to a set of specific web pages is easy with CSS. The use of CSS eliminates the need for fixing each web page. Editing a Cascading Style Sheet automates the implementation of changes across all web pages using that CSS style sheet.

Device Compatibility

In today's digital environment, responsive web designs matter. Nowadays, web pages should be easily navigable and fully visible on any device, be it a desktop computer, a tablet, a smartphone, or a smart TV. CSS integrates into HTML to enable responsive web designs.

CSS Skills That You Need to Master

The backbone of web development is coding, and if you have strong CSS skills that drive businesses forward, you will be rewarded. Below are some in-demand CSS skills that would-be web developers should be proficient at. The most sought-after CSS skills are:

• Development and Coding
• Version Controls and UNIX
• CSS3, HTML, XHTML, and HTML5
• Well-versed in World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards
• Photoshop  
• Ability to perform cross-platform tests
• Familiarity with CSS-driven web development

Job Profiles That Require CSS Expertise

Wondering what jobs you can land with CSS skills? Top job profiles that require the use of CSS skills include:

• Front-end Developer
• Software Engineer
• Full Stack Developer
• Software Developer
• Senior Software Engineer
• PHP Developer
• Web Developer 

How to Kick-Start Your CSS Career?

Although a bachelor's degree in software engineering can help you manage an entry-level job, to accelerate your career growth, you need to get yourself certified by a renowned, industry-recognized institution such as Simplilearn that offers job-oriented courses. This also gives you an edge in the job market because most employers today prefer to recruit candidates with a course completion certificate from a reputed institution. It is widely understood that such candidates are industry-ready and have had the opportunity to work on real-world projects. 

Advance your career as a MEAN stack developer with the Full Stack Web Developer - MEAN Stack Master's Program. Enroll now!

Build a Great Career in CSS With Simplilearn

Simplilearn's Introduction to CSS course is a free course for UI UX professionals, software developers, programmers, and testing professionals. If you're a beginner-level learner, this course is a great place to get an insightful peek into the world of CSS. This course will equip you with the fundamentals of CSS, including how to edit different colors and text, how to customize attractive web page layouts, work with transitions, and set up the right CSS file structure.

For a more comprehensive understanding of CSS and how it works with other front-end technologies, enroll in Simplilearn's Post Graduate Program in Full Stack Web Development or you could take our 90-days free front-end development course and get a course completion certificate after completing it.    

By the end of the free program, you will be ready for top jobs that use CSS skills. To get access to these free courses and more, register with Simplilearn today!