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CSS CSS Selectors Selectors - Beyond the Basics DRY CSS

Posted by Kim B
Kim B
4,991 Points

Is it considered better to have cluttered HTML (assigning multiple classes to various elements) vs CSS (DRY)?

I understand the concept of DRY as far as keeping the CSS sheet uncluttered and making it easier to update styles across a site. However, it seems that this risks cluttering the HTML document by assigning multiple classes to one element. Is this a problem, or does it not cause issues in practice because you generally shouldn't be assigning 15 classes to one element if you have a consistent style across your site?

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,248 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,248 Points

Assigning multiple classes to HTML elements is a common practice, but it should never become so excessive as to be considered "cluttered". Selector combining (such as descendant selectors) can also provide ways to categorize elements without giving each one another class.