Something I’ve been trying to get into the habit of doing more lately is using more consolidated css code for sites I design. Other than easier text management and more powerful layout capabilities, one of the greatest advantages of css is the bandwidth and time it saves. However, even a standard css document is a bit too clunky when you take the time to look at all the redundant properties being used.

Lately, I’ve been trying to train myself to think a bit more abstractly about the way I design pages, and in turn, write xhtml/css/php. I find myself thinking in terms of blocks rather than the whole picture. I suppose breaking it down into smaller chunks is a good thing in some ways, but overall it leads to redundancy and a sometimes clumsy layout.

However, since I began focusing on what should be a fairly obvious procedure, my code has been a lot lighter, and my sites have ‘worked’ a lot better from a design standpoint. Anyways, check out this link and maybe you’ll learn something new. A lot of these tips are common sense, or things you learn the first day you sit down with css, but a few I had no idea about.