Tailwind

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first framework that allows users to define com­po­nents. The CSS is very popular but requires extensive prior knowledge.

A CSS framework is a col­lec­tion of functions and elements necessary for website design. Because de­vel­op­ers can make use of the pre-existing options, website design and team col­lab­o­ra­tions are sim­pli­fied. CSS frame­works use code libraries that are used in the HTML code for this purpose.

Tailwind CSS is a popular CSS framework that is entirely utility-first and provides users with low-level CSS classes in PostCSS that can be used to define com­po­nents and designs in­de­pen­dent­ly. Tailwind CSS was developed by Adam Wathan and first released in 2017. Since then it’s been installed by millions of users.

The main ad­van­tages of utility-first frame­works like Tailwind CSS are flex­i­bil­i­ty and the resulting pos­si­bil­i­ties for cus­tomiza­tion. Unlike tra­di­tion­al Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), utility-first frame­works don’t include pre-built com­po­nents, but offer utility classes. These contain pre­de­fined styles that can be applied to an element. This sim­pli­fies the process, results in clearer code, and provides many ad­di­tion­al design options that con­tribute to more cus­tomized websites.

Tailwind CSS is par­tic­u­lar­ly suitable for users with prior knowledge of CSS and those who are familiar with its special features. A basic un­der­stand­ing of HTML is important for working with the utility-first framework, since com­po­nents must be created in­de­pen­dent­ly, and all styles are stored directly in the HTML files. Except for some basics like margins, sizes and colors, Tailwind CSS does not use defaults. Provided de­vel­op­ers have the ex­pe­ri­ence, they can use Tailwind CSS to liberally design website elements and save time.

The CSS is suitable for frontend web projects of any kind and can be used in con­junc­tion with popular JavaScript frame­works. For example, Lavarel, Vue.js, and React can be used with Tailwind CSS. The com­bi­na­tion does away with the object-oriented approach of many other frame­works

Because of its par­tic­u­lar approach, Tailwind CSS isn’t suitable for everyone. To find out whether a utility-first approach is right for you, consider the ad­van­tages and dis­ad­van­tages of Tailwind CSS.

• There’s no need to switch between HTML files and CSS files. As a rule, work runs more smoothly this way.
• Working with Tailwind CSS allows for more cus­tomized solutions for important elements on a website. This makes it stand out from the crowd.
• Due to the pre­de­fined classes and the use of CSS Media Queries Tailwind CSS makes for a re­spon­sive framework that works well on mobile devices too.
• Overall de­vel­op­ment is faster and fa­cil­i­tat­ed by utility classes.
• Pre­de­fined classes help to compress CSS.
• Tailwind CSS makes it easy to implement modal com­po­nents.
• The framework is stable and rarely suffers bugs or errors.
• If you’re already familiar with CSS, the logical structure and approach of the utility-first framework are a bonus and the learning curve is rel­a­tive­ly flat.
• If you’re currently in the process of learning CSS and wish to use Tailwind CSS at the same time, the com­pre­hen­sive and easy to un­der­stand doc­u­men­ta­tion will guide you.

• Nev­er­the­less, using the framework for the first time is fairly difficult if you’re not ex­pe­ri­enced with the pe­cu­liar­i­ties and pitfalls of CSS.
• The code can be confusing because a lot of in­for­ma­tion is stored in the HTML file. Mixing design and HTML violates the principle of “sep­a­ra­tions of concerns”.
• When you install Tailwind CSS, default CSS styles are deleted. You must first recreate all elements. This applies to important com­po­nents like buttons, headers or nav­i­ga­tion bars.
• Certain HTML elements repeat in the markup, so the code violates the “Don’t repeat yourself!” principle. This happens, for example, when a certain element is to be used several times on the website.

Much like other frame­works, Tailwind CSS aims to ease the process of creating a website. Thanks to pre­de­fined classes and known CSS rules, websites can be created faster. Because the principle is always the same, ex­pe­ri­enced users can switch between frame­works more rapidly. While con­ven­tion­al solutions provide fixed com­po­nents such as buttons or nav­i­ga­tion bars, Tailwind CSS allows i.e. requires in­di­vid­ual creation. Unlike some other frame­works, Tailwind CSS is aimed at pro­fes­sion­als with extensive prior knowledge of CSS.

The easiest way to add Tailwind CSS is using a package manager. You should have Node.js installed on your computer. Here’s how to proceed:

Create a new project in terminal.

This will create a package.json file in the root directory. The extension “-y” is used to set default values.

To install the latest stable version of Tailwind CSS as a de­pen­den­cy, use the following command:

The in­stal­la­tion can take a few minutes.

To generate the tailwind.config.js file, enter the following command:

The content of the file should look like this:

Access the src folder and add the following lines to your CSS file:

Finally, enter the following command in the terminal to start the build process:

The pop­u­lar­i­ty of Tailwind CSS is hardly sur­pris­ing. Ex­pe­ri­enced de­vel­op­ers familiar with CSS tricks will ap­pre­ci­ate the framework enabling them to work faster and more un­teth­ered. However, beginners would be better served using an al­ter­na­tive because the framework is harder to learn and there’s more potential for errors.