CSS Methodologies

Codified ways to write cleaner CSS.

SatisfactionS
InterestI
UsageU
AwarenessA

Satisfaction, interest, usage, and awareness ratio rankings.

Technologies with less than 10% awareness not included. Each ratio is defined as follows:

  • Satisfaction: would use again / (would use again + would not use again)
  • Interest: want to learn / (want to learn + not interested)
  • Usage: (would use again + would not use again) / total
  • Awareness: (total - never heard) / total

Overview of opinions on the technologies surveyed over time.

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard

Technologies with only one year of data are not included.

This chart splits positive (“want to learn”, “would use again”) vs negative (“not interested”, “would not use again”) experiences on both sides of a central axis.

Bar thickness represents the number of respondents aware of a technology.

BEM
Completion percentage: 80.9% (9302)
Completion percentage: 80.9% (9302)

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You will not be surprised to hear that BEM is an abbreviation of the key elements of the methodology — Block, Element and Modifier.

2019

2020

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard

Atomic CSS (Utility-first CSS)
Completion percentage: 81.1% (9323)
Completion percentage: 81.1% (9323)

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Atomic CSS is a CSS architecture. It is not opinionated; it simply defines a set of classes representing single-purpose styling units.

2019

2020

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard

OOCSS
Completion percentage: 81.1% (9325)
Completion percentage: 81.1% (9325)

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OOCSS, or object-oriented CSS, is a methodology to help programmers write CSS that is succinct and easy to maintain.

2019

2020

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard
We asked members of the CSS community to share their “pick of the year”

My 2020 Pick: The CSS Cascade

With this blog post, Amelia Wattenberger didn't just go the extra mile, she ran a whole marathon! The animations and quiz will ensure you finally understand the CSS cascade.

We asked members of the CSS community to share their “pick of the year”

Sacha Greif

Creator of this survey

SMACSS
Completion percentage: 81.2% (9331)
Completion percentage: 81.2% (9331)

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SMACSS (pronounced “smacks”) is more style guide than rigid framework. There is no library within here for you to download or install. There is no git repository for you to clone. SMACSS is a way to examine your design process and as a way to fit those rigid frameworks into a flexible thought process.

2019

2020

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard

ITCSS
Completion percentage: 81% (9313)
Completion percentage: 81% (9313)

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ITCSS is a sane, scalable, managed CSS architecture from CSS Wizardry

2019

2020

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard

CUBE CSS
Completion percentage: 81.1% (9317)
Completion percentage: 81.1% (9317)

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2020

Would not use
Not interested
Would use again
Interested
Never heard

Other Tools
Completion percentage: 0.9% (99)
Completion percentage: 0.9% (99)

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Other tools in this category (freeform answers).

On a scale of one (very unhappy) to five (very happy), how happy are developers with the current overall state of this category?

Recommended Resources

Scalable Modular Architecture for CSS (SMACSS)

CSS architecture expert Jonathan Snook shares his experience building large sites with large teams to make your CSS more maintainable using his SMACSS methodology.
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