Jeremiah Hass

Top 5 CSS Tricks for Beginners

Learning CSS can feel overwhelming at first β€” but once you know a few clever tricks, your designs will improve dramatically. Here are five beginner-friendly tips I wish I knew sooner:

🎯 1. Use CSS Variables for Theme Management

Instead of hardcoding colors, use variables for consistency and theme switching.

:root {
  --primary-color: #3498db;
  --text-color: #333;
}

πŸ“ 2. Master Flexbox for Layouts

Flexbox makes it easy to align and distribute elements. This is a powerful layout tool every beginner should learn.

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

🎨 3. Center Anything with Flexbox

Yes, it’s that simple. You can center text, divs, or entire sections using just two lines of CSS:

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

πŸ“± 4. Use `clamp()` for Responsive Font Sizes

The `clamp()` function makes your typography scale based on screen size β€” no media queries needed.

h1 {
  font-size: clamp(1.5rem, 5vw, 3rem);
}

πŸŒ— 5. Create Light/Dark Mode with a Class

Toggle a class on your body, and use variables to change your site’s theme dynamically.

body.dark-mode {
  --bg-color: #121212;
  --text-color: #f5f5f5;
}

βœ… Final Thoughts

These CSS techniques can greatly improve your design workflow and make your websites more professional. Try implementing one or two into your current project β€” you’ll notice the difference!