CSS Examples & Practice

CSS Snippets

These are the small CSS recipes you reach for again and again. Each snippet solves one common problem and comes with a one-line explanation. Copy the code, drop it into your stylesheet, and adjust the values to fit your design.

1. Center anything (grid)

The shortest way to center a child both horizontally and vertically.

.center {
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
  min-height: 100vh;
}

2. Center with flexbox

The flexbox equivalent, useful when you also need to space multiple children.

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

3. Truncate text with an ellipsis

Cut off a single line of overflowing text and add three dots.

.truncate {
  white-space: nowrap;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
}

4. Clamp text to multiple lines

Limit a paragraph to a fixed number of lines, then ellipsis.

.clamp-3 {
  display: -webkit-box;
  -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
  overflow: hidden;
}

5. Custom scrollbar

Style the scrollbar in WebKit browsers (Chrome, Edge, Safari).

.scroll::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 10px; }
.scroll::-webkit-scrollbar-track { background: #f1f5f9; }
.scroll::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {
  background: #94a3b8;
  border-radius: 999px;
}

6. Gradient text

Paint text with a gradient by clipping the background to the text.

.gradient-text {
  background: linear-gradient(90deg, #06b6d4, #8b5cf6);
  -webkit-background-clip: text;
  background-clip: text;
  color: transparent;
}

7. Fixed aspect-ratio box

Keep an element at a set ratio (great for video thumbnails).

.ratio-16-9 {
  aspect-ratio: 16 / 9;
  width: 100%;
  background: #e2e8f0;
}

8. Responsive auto-fit grid

A grid whose columns reflow automatically with no media queries.

.auto-grid {
  display: grid;
  gap: 16px;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(220px, 1fr));
}

9. Sticky footer

Push the footer to the bottom even when content is short.

body {
  min-height: 100vh;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}
main { flex: 1; }

10. Visually hidden (accessible)

Hide content visually but keep it for screen readers.

.sr-only {
  position: absolute;
  width: 1px; height: 1px;
  padding: 0; margin: -1px;
  overflow: hidden;
  clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);
  white-space: nowrap;
  border: 0;
}

11. Smooth focus ring

A clear, accessible focus outline for keyboard users only.

:focus-visible {
  outline: 3px solid #6366f1;
  outline-offset: 2px;
  border-radius: 4px;
}

12. Respect reduced motion

Turn off animations for users who prefer less motion.

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  * {
    animation: none !important;
    transition: none !important;
  }
}

💡

Snippets are starting points — always adjust colors, sizes and vendor prefixes to match your project and browser targets.