What Is CSS?

You've probably heard of the term "CSS" mentioned before, but didn't exactly know what it was, so here's a very brief/oversimplified explanation.

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets.

It is a programming language that essentially tells browsers how to display the HTML elements on your website. 

CSS is very helpful, as it can save a lot of work by being able to apply your styling and customizations to an entire website using only a few lines of code. This means that you won't have to style all your web pages one by one. 

With CSS, it's possible to just edit a piece of CSS code/one CSS file in order to make sitewide changes.

CSS is compatible with all browsers, on all devices or platforms.

What Can I Do With CSS?

With CSS, it's possible to customize elements on your site, down to the smallest detail. 

You can use it to change fonts, text colours, backgrounds, image sizes, spacing between elements on your site, and many, MANY other things. 

Do you want to change the hue of your blog titles by juuuust a little bit? CSS can fix that for you.

Need to align your photo by 3 pixels to the left? Yup, CSS can help with that.

What Is The Difference Between CSS And HTML?

To use real estate analogies: If your website is a house, HTML would be the floors, walls, ceilings, roof, etc. Meanwhile, CSS would be the wallpaper, paint, trims, decor, etc.

So HTML is your structure, and CSS is what makes that structure look nice.

HTML code is usually identifiable from its use of matching tags that are in angle brackets. For example: <p>...........</p>

CSS code is usually identifiable from its use of curly brackets. For example: p {..............}

If you wish to learn how to use CSS, there is a plethora of materials online that can help you, from paid lessons, to free message boards or video tutorials.