CSS is experiencing a renaissance, thanks to innovative frameworks, extensive community contributions, and the constant evolution of web development practices.
Once deemed dull and limited, in recent years CSS has undergone a spectacular transformation, evolving into a powerful tool capable of creating stunning, interactive web designs. No longer confined to basic styling, CSS now enables developers to craft intricate and creative interfaces that were once thought impossible. Imagine designing something as complex and visually captivating as the Fallout PipBoy interface — a project we successfully brought to life a couple of weeks ago.
Today, CSS frameworks, libraries, and new syntax empower developers to push the boundaries of web design, making the once monotonous task of styling not just easier, but genuinely exciting. Welcome to the new era of CSS, where the possibilities are as boundless as your creativity.
Here are five top CSS repositories that you should explore to stay ahead in 2024.
1. Bulma
- Repository: jgthms/bulma
- Stars: 48.8k
- Description: Bulma is a modern CSS framework based on Flexbox. It’s designed to be simple to use and easy to customize, making it a favorite among developers for creating responsive and clean web designs.
- Highlights: Bulma provides a rich set of CSS classes to create a variety of web components without any JavaScript. This makes it an excellent choice for developers who prefer to keep their design and functionality layers separate.
2. Animate.css
- Repository: animate-css/animate.css
- Stars: 78.5k
- Description: Animate.css is a library of ready-to-use, cross-browser animations for use in your web projects. Great for emphasis, home pages, sliders, and attention-guiding hints.
- Highlights: The library is incredibly easy to integrate and offers a wide range of animations that can be applied with simple class names. It supports custom settings for animations, such as delays and iterations.
3. Tailwind CSS
- Repository: tailwindlabs/tailwindcss
- Stars: 71.3k
- Description: Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework packed with classes like flex, pt-4, text-center, and rotate-90 that can be composed to build any design, directly in your markup.
- Highlights: Tailwind’s approach is unique because it encourages developers to think in terms of utility classes rather than custom CSS. This method can significantly speed up the development process and ensure consistency across projects.
4. Font Awesome
- Repository: FortAwesome/Font-Awesome
- Stars: 73.2k
- Description: Font Awesome is a popular icon set and toolkit used by millions of designers and developers. It provides scalable vector icons that can instantly be customized — size, color, drop shadow, and anything that can be done with the power of CSS.
- Highlights: Font Awesome makes it easy to add icons to your projects. With extensive documentation and a large community, it’s easy to find help and examples for almost any use case. It integrates seamlessly with various frameworks and is constantly updated with new icons and features.
5. 50 Projects 50 Days
- Repository: bradtraversy/50projects50days
- Stars: 27.9k
- Description: This repository shares 50 mini-projects in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that are perfect for new developers looking to improve their skills through practical examples.
- Highlights: The projects cover a wide range of functionalities and design patterns, providing hands-on experience with real-world scenarios. This is an excellent resource for learning by doing.
The New Life of CSS
CSS has evolved significantly over the years. The introduction of frameworks like Bulma and Tailwind CSS has revolutionized the way developers think about styling web applications. These frameworks not only provide a robust set of tools but also promote best practices through their community-driven development and comprehensive documentation.
Recommended article: Advanced CSS tricks you have to know
The New Life of CSS (2025 Update)
With the rise of utility-first frameworks like Tailwind CSS, developers are now able to build complex designs quickly and efficiently. These frameworks emphasize the importance of reusable classes, which leads to more maintainable and scalable codebases.
CSS has undergone significant growth, and this transformation is far from over. With innovative frameworks like Bulma, Tailwind CSS, and Animate.css, the web development community has embraced a new era where designing interactive and dynamic web applications is easier than ever. These tools have evolved with new features and functionalities to keep pace with the demands of modern development.
- Tailwind CSS v4.1 (released April 2025) has added new utilities for text shadows and masks, further streamlining the development process with its utility-first approach. Tailwind’s flexibility remains a key asset, allowing for rapid, customized designs right in your markup.
- Bulma is still the go-to Flexbox-based CSS framework, but its rewrite using Dart Sass in v1.0.0 reflects the modern needs of developers looking for lightweight, yet powerful, tools to create responsive, mobile-first designs.
- Animate.css (latest version 4.1.1) remains indispensable for adding animations with ease. The recent update focused on improving accessibility with better support for
prefers-reduced-motion, ensuring that users with motion sensitivity are not overwhelmed by animations. - Font Awesome 6, with version 7 coming soon, continues to dominate as the toolkit of choice for scalable vector icons. It remains an essential part of many developers’ arsenals, regularly updating with new icons and styles.
These updates keep these frameworks and libraries as foundational pillars for web development, offering both efficiency and flexibility. Whether you’re building complex apps or simple sites, staying updated on these tools ensures you’re always working with the best.
In conclusion, exploring these repositories can keep you at the forefront of frontend development, allowing you to create modern, responsive, and visually appealing web applications with ease. Happy coding!
