CSS Cheat Sheet

 

CSS Cheat Sheet: Essential Guide for Web Developers

Introduction

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is an essential language for styling web pages. It controls the layout, colors, fonts, and responsiveness of a website. This cheat sheet covers key CSS properties, selectors, and best practices to help you design visually appealing web pages efficiently.

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Basic CSS Syntax

CSS follows a simple syntax:

selector {
    property: value;
}

Example:

body {
    background-color: #f4f4f4;
    color: #333;
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
}

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CSS Selectors

CSS selectors allow you to target HTML elements for styling.

Common Selectors

• * – Universal selector (selects all elements)
• element – Targets a specific HTML tag (e.g., p, h1, div)
• .class – Targets elements with a specific class
• #id – Targets an element with a unique ID
• element, element – Selects multiple elements

Example:

h1, h2 {
    color: blue;
}

Advanced Selectors

• element > child – Selects direct child elements
• element + sibling – Selects the adjacent sibling
• element ~ sibling – Selects all siblings

Example:

div > p {
    color: red;
}

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Box Model

The box model defines how elements are structured and spaced.

Components:

1. Content – The actual text or image
2. Padding – Space inside the border
3. Border – The edge surrounding the element
4. Margin – Space outside the border

Example:

div {
    padding: 10px;
    border: 2px solid black;
    margin: 20px;
}

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CSS Flexbox

Flexbox is a powerful layout module that makes designing responsive layouts easy.

Key Properties:

• display: flex; – Enables Flexbox
• justify-content – Aligns items horizontally
• align-items – Aligns items vertically
• flex-wrap – Allows wrapping of items

Example:

.container {
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
}

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CSS Grid

CSS Grid is another layout system that helps create complex designs with ease.

Key Properties:

• display: grid; – Enables Grid layout
• grid-template-columns – Defines column structure
• grid-template-rows – Defines row structure
• gap – Adds spacing between grid items

Example:

.grid-container {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
    gap: 10px;
}

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Animations & Transitions

CSS allows you to add smooth animations and transitions to enhance user experience.

Transitions

div {
    transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out;
}

Keyframes for Animations

@keyframes fadeIn {
    from { opacity: 0; }
    to { opacity: 1; }
}

div {
    animation: fadeIn 2s ease-in-out;
}

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Conclusion

This CSS cheat sheet provides a quick reference to the most commonly used properties and techniques. Mastering CSS will allow you to create stunning, responsive web pages efficiently. Bookmark this guide for future reference and start styling like a pro!