The least amount of CSS for a decent looking site (2023)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Minimal CSS vs. Web Bloat

  • Many welcome the article’s “small CSS” ethos as an antidote to complexity (JS bundles, React, Tailwind, WordPress plugins).
  • Others note that on bloated sites (e.g., news), JS is orders of magnitude heavier than CSS, so CSS bloat is a secondary problem.
  • Some argue “code is liability,” so even tens of kilobytes matter; others say optimizing away 50 KB of CSS rarely has real-world ROI compared to fixing JS or ad-tech.

Resets, Defaults, and Browser Differences

  • Debate over CSS resets: some say modern browsers are close enough that big resets are obsolete; margins/padding alone get most of the way.
  • Others still want minimal resets for readability, especially for images (img { max-width: 100% }, though paired with height: auto).
  • A camp prefers embracing browser defaults (“when in Rome”), accepting slight cross-platform visual differences.

Dark Mode and Theming

  • Strong interest in prefers-color-scheme and color-scheme as “free” theming.
  • Disagreement on user control:
    • Some insist every site should provide its own light/dark toggle.
    • Others think respecting system preference is enough; JS toggles often cause “flashbang” on dark mode.
    • A few dislike any site-imposed theme, preferring browser/user CSS and extensions.

Content Width and Readability

  • This is the most contentious topic.
  • One side hates constrained widths and wants to use full-screen width, resizing the browser if needed.
  • The opposing side cites typography research and long-standing print practice: ~50–75 characters per line improves comprehension and prevents eye fatigue; multi-column newspaper-style layouts exist for this reason.
  • Practical issues with multi-column web text (scrolling, anchor links, resizing) are discussed; many conclude it’s complex to implement well.
  • Mobile users point out they can’t resize the viewport at all, making sane defaults more important.

Fonts, system-ui, and Design

  • Minimalists like system fonts for performance and “native” feel; others warn system-ui can pick very poor faces in some locales (especially CJK Windows), suggesting sans-serif stacks instead.
  • Big subthread on typography: some argue default/system fonts look unprofessional and convey “I don’t care,” while others claim most readers only notice fonts when they’re bad.
  • Broader point: fonts and layout subtly signal trustworthiness and intent, even if users aren’t consciously aware.

Static Site Generators vs. Hand-Written HTML

  • Several recommend lightweight SSGs (Eleventy, Zola, Quarto, Franklin) for simple academic/personal sites.
  • Others advocate hand-written HTML+CSS for very small sites, citing robustness and freedom from dependency churn, with SSGs becoming useful only once pages scale beyond ~10–12.

Zero or Near-Zero CSS

  • Some participants have moved to almost no CSS (or none at all), arguing that every tweak risks accessibility regressions and that styling should live with the user (browser defaults, user stylesheets).
  • Others like ultra-minimal base styles (motherfuckingwebsite-style, 50–100 bytes CSS gists) as a pragmatic middle ground.

Article Quality and Learning CSS

  • A number of commenters find the article an excellent beginner-friendly baseline and praise the author’s broader educational work.
  • Critics think it’s too shallow, encouraging copy-paste without understanding; they urge developers to learn core CSS concepts instead of chasing “least CSS” recipes.