CSS variables allow for easy reuse in your CSS style sheets. If you’ve worked with WordPress child themes, you probably find yourself doing a lot of styling and overriding on things like color, padding, etc. If you’re new to web design, there’s nothing wrong with using plain CSS.
Using preprocessors for your CSS allows you to overcome all of its drawbacks. You can code using variables, nesting, mix-ins, and more, and the preprocessors will convert it to standard CSS styles. In this article we’ll cover how to use CSS Preprocessors with WordPress.
The infographic of how to use CSS preprocessor with WordPress is as under:
Let’s have a quick look of the infograph.
Digging The Features
- Extend
- Nesting
- Functions
- Operations
- Mixins
- Variables
5 Reasons to use a CSS preprocessor
- Use CSS3 with ease.
- Easy to set up and maintain.
- Organize and scale CSS quickly.
- Write reusable and less codes.
- Optimize CSS for production use.
Top CSS preprocessor
- SASS – 38.67%
- SCSS – 28.67%
- LESS – 22.67%
- COMPASS – 8%
- STYLUS – 4%
How to use CSS preprocessor with WordPress
Method 1: Using Command Lines
1. Install SASS and COMPASS
2. Copy SASS files into your theme folder.
3. Compile and convert style.scss to style.css
Method 2: Compile using Editors
- Codekit
- Koala
- Compass.app
- Scout-App
About CSS Preprocessors
As we mentioned earlier, there are a number of CSS preprocessors, the most commonly used being SASS, SCSS and LESS. Both are syntactically similar and can dramatically increase the speed at which you can write your CSS code.
SASS
SASS is an extension of CSS3. It has two syntaxes: .scss and .sass. .SCSS is the most common syntax used but it also supports the older syntax.
Some of the common features of SASS include:
- Variables – Variables can be defined and used throughout your file. Make a change in one place and see it updated wherever it’s used.
- Mixins – Mixins allow you to re-use whole chunks of CSS, properties or selectors.
- Nesting – Avoid repetition by nesting selectors within one another.
- Selector Inheritance – It can tell one selector to inherit all the styles of another without duplicating the CSS properties.
Few frameworks that include SASS and SCSS:
LESS
LESS is a dynamic style sheet language. You can write your CSS code in a .less file and compile your output into a .css file. LESS use JavaScript language.
Features of LESS include:
- Variables – Variables can be defined and are used throughout your file. Make a change in one place and see it updated wherever it’s used like SASS.
- Mixins – Mixins include a bunch of properties from one rule set into another. You can also use Parametric Mixins that accept arguments.
- Nested Rules – Nested Rules give you the ability to use nesting instead of combination with cascading.
- Namespaces – Namespaces allow you to group your variables or mixins.
Two of the most popular front-end frameworks that use LESS are:
Use CSS Preprocessors with WordPress: Conclusion
Use CSS Preprocessors with WordPress are definitely a growing trend in web design. They can dramatically speed up the time you spend on writing codes styles for your sites.
They can also help with structuring your CSS like other functions in other languages like PHP or JavaScript. If you aren’t using CSS preprocessors with WordPress in your web project, you should definitely consider it.
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