Tailwind CSS is a popular utility-first CSS framework that simplifies the process of designing and styling web applications. It offers a collection of designed utility classes that can be directly applied to your HTML elements enabling you to swiftly create and customize your user interfaces without the need, for writing custom CSS code.
Tailwind CSS follows the concept of design, where it offers a collection of reusable components that can be combined to build intricate designs. This approach simplifies the process of creating manageable stylesheets.
Moreover, Tailwind CSS is extremely flexible. Allows for customization enabling designers and developers to craft distinctive and visually captivating websites and applications. It has gained popularity among those seeking to create experiences with an appealing aesthetic.
✅ It is easy to use and understand.
✅ It is highly customizable.
✅ It can be used to create responsive websites and applications.
✅ It is a popular choice for designers and developers.
🔸 Utility Classes: Tailwind CSS comes with a comprehensive set of utility classes that cover a wide range of CSS properties, such as margins, padding, typography, colours, and more. These classes are named according to their purpose, making it easy to understand and apply them.
🔸 Responsive Design: Tailwind CSS includes responsive design classes that allow you to control the appearance of elements on different screen sizes and breakpoints. You can apply responsive classes to adapt your layout and styling for various devices.
🔸 Customization: While Tailwind CSS provides a default set of utility classes, it is highly customizable. You can configure and extend the framework to match your project’s specific design requirements by modifying the configuration file. This makes it flexible and adaptable for different design systems.
🔸 Composition: Tailwind CSS encourages a “composition over inheritance” approach, meaning you compose styles by applying multiple utility classes to an element rather than creating custom CSS rules. This approach promotes consistency and helps avoid CSS bloat.
🔸 Just-In-Time (JIT) Mode: Tailwind CSS introduced a JIT mode that dynamically generates the CSS you need for your project. This reduces the CSS file size and speeds up development while still allowing for extensive customization.
🔸 Ecosystem: Tailwind CSS has a vibrant ecosystem, including plugins and extensions for adding additional functionality and styles. These can help you integrate with various front-end libraries and frameworks.
Related read: Best Frontend Frameworks In 2023 for Web Development
Tailwind CSS and Bootstrap are both popular front-end frameworks used for web development, and they do share some similarities despite their different approaches and philosophies. It’s important to note that while similarities between these two exist, Tailwind CSS and Bootstrap have distinct philosophies and strengths.
Tailwind CSS focuses on utility classes and customization, while Bootstrap emphasizes pre-designed components and ease of use. Your choice between the two should be based on your project’s specific needs and your development preferences.
To add Tailwind CSS to your project, you’ll need to follow these general steps. Keep in mind that the specific steps may vary depending on your project’s setup and tools.
🔸 Using a Build Process: The most common way to use Tailwind CSS is to install it as a dependency in your project and then build your CSS using a build process like PostCSS or Webpack. This process involves configuring and compiling Tailwind CSS into a single CSS file, which you then include in your HTML using a <link> tag.
✅ Install Tailwind CSS: Use your preferred package manager (npm or yarn) to install Tailwind CSS and its dependencies. Run one of the following commands:
Using npm: npm install tailwind css
Using yarn: yarn add tailwind css
✅ Create a Configuration File: You’ll need a configuration file for Tailwind CSS. You can generate one using the following command:
npx tailwindcss init
This command will create a tailwind.config.js file in your project’s root directory.
✅ Configure Tailwind CSS (Optional): Open the tailwind.config.js file and customize it according to your project’s requirements. This file allows you to define your own colours, fonts, spacing, and other design-related settings.
✅ Include Tailwind CSS in Your Stylesheets: In your project’s CSS or SCSS file, import Tailwind CSS using the @import directive. For example, if you’re using a CSS file, add this line at the top:
@import 'tailwindcss/base'; @import 'tailwindcss/components'; @import 'tailwindcss/utilities';
If you’re using SCSS, you can create a new SCSS file, import Tailwind CSS, and then compile it into CSS.
✅ Use Tailwind CSS Classes in Your HTML: Now, you can start using Tailwind CSS classes in your HTML files to style your elements. You can apply utility classes directly to your HTML elements to achieve the desired styling.
✅ Build Your CSS: Depending on your project’s build process, you may need to build your CSS to generate a final stylesheet. Tailwind CSS provides a command for this:
npx tailwindcss build -o output.css
Replace output.css with the desired output file name.
✅ Include the Compiled CSS in Your HTML: Link the compiled CSS file (generated in the previous step) in your HTML file using the <link> element in the <head> section.
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>My Tailwind CSS Project</title> <!-- Include the compiled Tailwind CSS file --> <link href="path/to/your/compiled.css" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <!-- Your HTML content here --> </body> </html>
In this example, “path/to/your/compiled.css” should be replaced with the actual path to the compiled Tailwind CSS file generated by your build process.
🔸 Using a CDN (Content Delivery Network): As an alternative for quick prototyping and testing, you can include Tailwind CSS directly from a CDN in your HTML without setting up a build process. Here’s an example:
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>My Tailwind CSS Project</title> <!-- Include Tailwind CSS from a CDN --> <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tailwindcss@2.2.19/dist/tailwind.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <!-- Your HTML content here --> </body> </html>
In this example, the <link> tag references the Tailwind CSS file directly from a CDN. Note that using a CDN is generally not recommended for production use because it lacks the ability to customize and optimize Tailwind CSS for your specific project.
However, for a production project, it’s highly recommended to set up a build process and compile Tailwind CSS to ensure you can customize it and reduce its file size by removing unused styles. The first method described using a build process is the standard and recommended way to incorporate Tailwind CSS into your projects for production use.
Begin styling your project with Tailwind CSS added to your project, you can now use its utility classes to style your HTML elements as needed.
Tailwind is a utility-based framework. That means it starts with no components or assumptions. There’s no such thing as a “button” or “h1” class. If we want things to happen we have to set them as classes.
🔸 Tailwind Utility Classes Example:
<body> <!-- Create an h1 with Tailwind CSS --> <h1 class="text-4xl font-bold text-blue-600"> This is an H1 Heading </h1> <!-- Create an h2 with Tailwind CSS --> <h2 class="text-2xl font-semibold text-green-500"> This is an H2 Subheading </h2> </body>
In this example:
🔸 Handling Margins and Spacings:
<body> <div class="p-8 bg-gray-200"> <!-- This div has padding of 2rem (32px) on all sides and a gray background --> <div class="mb-4"> <!-- This div has a margin-bottom of 1rem (16px) --> <p class="text-lg font-semibold text-blue-500"> Content with margin and spacing </p> <!-- This paragraph has larger text, a semi-bold font weight, and blue text color --> </div> <div class="space-y-4"> <!-- This div applies vertical spacing of 1rem (16px) between child elements --> <p>Item 1</p> <p>Item 2</p> <p>Item 3</p> </div> </div> </body>
In this example:
Additionally, we use the space-y-4 class on another inner <div> to apply vertical spacing of 16px (1rem) between its child elements. This is particularly useful for creating consistent spacing between items in a list or a set of related elements.
🔸Creating a Textbox:
<body> <div class="max-w-md mx-auto p-4"> <!-- Create a text input using Tailwind CSS --> <input type="text" class="w-full p-2 border border-gray-300 rounded-md focus:outline-none focus:border-blue-500" placeholder="Enter text here" > </div> </body>
In this example:
🔸 Add a Hover Effect:
<h2 class="text-2xl font-semibold hover:text-green-500"> This will make the text of H2 Subheading green when hovered over </h2>
<h2 class="text-2xl font-semibold hover:bg-green-500"> This will make the background of H2 Subheading green when hovered over </h2>
<button class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-semibold py-2 px-4 rounded"> Click Me </button>
In the above example:
To add a hover effect to an element, you can use the hover: prefix followed by the Tailwind classes that define the styles you want to apply on hover.🔸
🔸 Multiple Hover Styles:
You can apply multiple hover styles to an element by chaining multiple hover: classes. For instance, if you want to change both the background colour and the text colour on hover:
<button class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white hover:text-gray-100 font-semibold py-2 px-4 rounded"> Hover Me </button>
Here, hover:bg-blue-700 changes the background colour, and hover:text-gray-100 changes the text colour on hover.
🔸 Using Group and Group-Hover for Complex Elements:
For more complex elements that require hover styles on child elements, you can use the group and group-hover classes provided by Tailwind CSS. These classes allow you to style child elements based on the hover state of a parent element. For example:
<div class="group"> <p class="text-blue-500 group-hover:text-blue-700">Hover me</p> </div>
In this case, the text colour of the <p> element changes when its parent <div> is hovered over.
Tailwind CSS offers a quick and efficient way to design user interfaces, making it a favourite among developers. Yet, it’s essential to note that if you’re used to working with traditional CSS, there might be a learning curve as you adapt to this utility-first framework.
While Tailwind excels in many scenarios, it may not be the ideal choice for projects that demand intricate custom designs or minimal CSS work. It’s crucial to weigh the advantages of speed and simplicity against your project’s unique requirements to determine if Tailwind CSS is the right fit for you.
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