State of CSS 2024 Results

The 2024 State of CSS Survey Results are In!

The annual State of CSS survey is here, offering a fascinating glimpse into the current trends and sentiments within the CSS development community. While surveys aren't definitive, they provide valuable insights into the prevailing "zeitgeist." This year's results reveal some intriguing details. Several insightful analyses have already been published; notably, Josh Comeau's newsletter provides a comprehensive overview. Ahmad Shadeed also offers a concise summary at the survey's conclusion. I'll add more links as they become available.

Demographics: A Snapshot of the CSS Developer

Josh Comeau's analysis of the demographic data is particularly insightful, highlighting significant discrepancies in gender and regional pay disparities, with men consistently earning more than women and US-based developers reporting the highest salaries. This overrepresentation of high-earning developers, primarily from Western countries, suggests a potential bias in the results. The survey essentially reflects the experiences of a predominantly affluent, white, male developer population.

Personally, the age group distribution caught my attention. As a more seasoned front-end developer, I've observed the shift in demographics. Having recently moved from the largest age group (30-39, 42%) to the third largest (40-49, 21%), I'm reflecting on the longevity in this rapidly evolving field. The significant percentage of developers with less than 10 years of experience (44%) is striking, showcasing the relatively recent emergence of front-end development as a distinct profession. This younger demographic has largely missed the challenges of older technologies like table layouts and image sprites. This is both exciting and concerning, emphasizing the importance of mastering fundamental concepts.

CSS Features: Usage and Underutilization

Determining the most widely used CSS features from such a vast array is challenging. The survey's selection of 50 features raises questions about its methodology. However, the results remain interesting, particularly regarding underutilized features. hanging-punctuation shows extremely low usage (1.57%), despite a high percentage (52%) of developers intending to learn it. Similarly, Anchor Positioning lags, though its adoption is expected to increase with broader browser support and the recent surge of tutorials. The relatively high adoption of Cascade Layers (18.7%) is encouraging, suggesting that concerns about CSS cascade management might be overstated. The low adoption of @scope (4.8%) is likely to improve over time. The high ranking of viewport units (44.2%) as the second most experienced layout feature is also noteworthy.

Frameworks and Preprocessors: A Shifting Landscape

Tailwind CSS's dominance over Bootstrap is unsurprising. More interesting is the significant number of developers (13th out of 21) choosing not to use any CSS framework at all. This represents a notable shift compared to just three years ago. Similar trends are observed in CSS pre/post-processing, with Sass and PostCSS leading, but a substantial number (19%) opting for none. This reflects the ongoing improvements made by the CSS Working Group (CSSWG) in making CSS more robust and efficient. A huge thank you to the CSSWG for their tireless work!

CSS Usage and Testing Practices

The survey reveals that only 67% of respondents test their work on mobile devices, a figure significantly lower than the 99% who test on desktops. This discrepancy warrants further investigation, as mobile testing is crucial for responsive design. The persistent gap between JavaScript and CSS usage (53% writing more JavaScript than CSS) also remains a key observation.

Most Wanted CSS Features

The top three requested features—mixins, conditional logic, and masonry layouts—are all showing progress. New developments in CSS functions and mixins, conditional logic (if()), and competing proposals for masonry layouts indicate positive movement in these areas.

Resources and Community Engagement

CSS-Tricks maintains its top position as the leading blog for CSS resources, followed closely by Smashing Magazine. The strong showing of Kevin Powell and Josh Comeau in the top 10 highlights their contributions to the CSS community. The focus at CSS-Tricks is shifting towards more in-depth tutorials and resources, reflecting the evolving needs of front-end developers.

My Take: The Rise of Personal Blogging

The resurgence of personal blogging within the front-end community is a significant trend. Many developers are returning to personal websites and utilizing RSS feeds to share their knowledge and insights. This renewed focus on personal blogs and the IndieWeb is a welcome development.

Conclusion

A heartfelt thank you to Sacha Greif and the Devographics team for their dedication to this annual survey. The data provides valuable insights into the CSS landscape and fosters important conversations within the development community.

The above is the detailed content of State of CSS 2024 Results. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!