DEV Community

Cover image for Why CSS Still Rocks in 2024
sharath mohan
sharath mohan

Posted on

2

Why CSS Still Rocks in 2024

Love it or hate it, CSS continues to prove its worth. The past year has been a rollercoaster in the world of software engineering, with AI seemingly poised to take over our jobs. Yet, despite the rise of automation, CSS remains an essential skill that evolves alongside technology.

Remember when we used to joke about AI being "too dumb to center a div"? Well, times have changed—and so has CSS. Let’s explore some exciting new features that make CSS more powerful than ever.


1. Align Content: Centering Made Easy

Gone are the days when you had to rely on Flexbox or Grid to center a div. With the align-content property, CSS now offers a simpler and more direct way to handle alignment.

📖 Learn more about align-content


2. @property: Dynamic Custom Properties

CSS variables introduced us to reusable variable names, but the @property feature takes this a step further. It allows developers to define custom properties with explicit rules, making animations and theming more predictable and flexible.

📖 Learn more about @property


3. @starting-style: Simplifying Transitions

Transitioning from display: block to display: none while maintaining animations used to be a headache. Enter @starting-style—a new feature that makes it easier to define styles at the start of a transition.

📖 Learn more about @starting-style


4. Light-Dark Function: Native Theme Switching

Many developers use JavaScript to manage light and dark modes, but CSS now offers a built-in light-dark function. This simplifies theme management, reducing reliance on external scripts.

📖 Learn more about light-dark


Honoring Rebecca Purple: A Tribute to CSS History

One of the most exciting updates this year isn’t a feature—it’s a tribute. The CSS logo has adopted the color Rebecca Purple (#663399) to honor Rebecca Alison Meyer, daughter of CSS pioneer Eric Meyer. This thoughtful change celebrates the human stories behind the technology we use every day.


CSS continues to evolve, introducing features that make our lives easier while honoring its rich history. Whether you're a fan or a skeptic, one thing is clear: CSS still rocks!

Sentry blog image

How to reduce TTFB

In the past few years in the web dev world, we’ve seen a significant push towards rendering our websites on the server. Doing so is better for SEO and performs better on low-powered devices, but one thing we had to sacrifice is TTFB.

In this article, we’ll see how we can identify what makes our TTFB high so we can fix it.

Read more

Top comments (0)

Sentry image

See why 4M developers consider Sentry, “not bad.”

Fixing code doesn’t have to be the worst part of your day. Learn how Sentry can help.

Learn more