Advantages and Disadvantages of Using CSS

In modern web design culture, the use of style sheetcolumns.
languages such as CSS has become a popular tool* Lack of Variables - CSS contains no variables. This
and trend for web designers. The use of CSS startedmakes it necessary to do a "replace-all" when one
when the need for functional web designs, bothdesires to change a fundamental constant, such as
effective and efficient, were in great demand andthe color scheme or various heights and widths.
the use of table weren't as effective and as efficient* Inconsistent Browser Support - Different browsers
as anyone have thought. Several advantages haswill render CSS layout differently as a result of
been cited as to why CSS became accepted in thebrowser bugs or lack of support for CSS features.
growing industry of web design. Such advantages areNumerous so-called CSS "hacks" must be
as follows:implemented to achieve consistent layout among the
* Bandwidth - A stylesheet will usually be stored inmost popular or commonly used browsers. Pixel
the browser cache, and can therefore be used onprecise layouts can sometimes be impossible to
multiple pages without being reloaded, increasingachieve across browsers.
download speeds and reducing data transfer over a* Vertical Control Limitation - While horizontal
network.placement of elements is generally easy to control,
* Reformatting or Progressive Enhancement - With avertical placement is frequently unintuitive,
simple change of one line, a different stylesheet canconvoluted, or impossible. Simple tasks, such as
be used for the same page. This has advantages forcentering an element vertically or getting a footer to
accessibility, as well as providing the ability to tailor abe placed no higher than bottom of viewport, either
page or site to different target devices. Furthermore,require complicated and unintuitive style rules, or
devices not able to understand the styling will stillsimple but widely unsupported rules.
display the content.* Control of Element Shapes - CSS currently only
* Flexibility - By combining CSS with the functionalityoffers rectangular shapes. Rounded corners or other
of a Content Management System, a considerableshapes may require non-semantic markup. However,
amount of flexibility can be programmed into contentthis is addressed in the working draft of the CSS3
submission forms. This allows a contributor, who maybackgrounds module.
not be familiar or able to understand or edit CSS or* Poor Layout Controls for Flexible Layouts - While
HTML code to select the layout of an article or othernew additions to CSS3 provide a stronger, more
page they are submitting on-the-fly, in the samerobust layout feature-set, CSS is still very much
form.rooted as a styling language, not a layout language.
* Consistency - When CSS is used effectively, in* Lack of Column Declaration - While possible in
terms of inheritance and "cascading," a globalcurrent CSS, layouts with multiple columns can be
stylesheet can be used to affect and style elementscomplex to implement. With the current CSS, the
site-wide. If the situation arises that the styling ofprocess is often done using floating elements which
the elements should need to be changed or adjusted,are often rendered differently by different browsers,
these changes can be made easily, simply by editingdifferent computer screen shapes, and different
a few rules in the global stylesheet.screen ratios set on standard monitors.
For web design and development solutions, then visit* No of Multiple Backgrounds per Element - Highly
an online Web design Philippines site to learn moregraphical designs require several background images
about it.for every element, and CSS can support only one.
Though CSS has its strengths, it also has itsTherefore, developers have to choose between
weaknesses. Web professionals that used CSS asadding redundant wrappers around document
their base for layout designing and editing have alsoelements, or dropping the visual effect.
cited some drawbacks upon relying heavily on theFor web design and development solutions, then visit
style sheet language. Here are a short list of thean online Web design Philippines site to learn more
some disadvantages of using pure CSS on webabout it.
layouts and designs.Though a number of difficulties, drawbacks, and
* Collapsing Margins - Margin collapsing is, whiledisadvantages were found through use of "pure"
well-documented and useful, also complicated and isCSS, its usefulness in web design is still apparent in
frequently not expected by authors, and no simpleother ways. Because of its accessibility, web content
side-effect-free way is available to control it.for mobiles phones and PDAs became accessible
* No Expressions - There is currently no ability tobecause of CSS. CSS consumes lesser bandwidth.
specify property values as simple expressions (suchAnd with CSS, virtually all of the layout information
as margin-left: 10% - 3em + 4px;). This is useful in aresides in one place: the CSS document. Because the
variety of cases, such as calculating the size oflayout information is centralized, these changes can
columns subject to a constraint on the sum of allbe made quickly and globally by default.