Do not mix styles of an element with its container

Written byPhuoc Nguyen

Tags

CSS

Created

12 May, 2021

When developing a reusable component, we should follow the rule: the component should look like the same regardless where it's placed.

For example, the `margin` style in the following CSS is used for a specific use case where we want to have a space between `.item` and its sibling element.

.item {
    margin: 1rem 0;

    /* Other styles */
    ...;
}

It isn't recommended because it could be broken when you use `item` in another container. Instead, you should use a wrapper to separate the styles of element and its container:

.item-wrapper {
    margin: 1rem 0;
}

The `item` class can be reused in different places without breaking the look and feel:

<div class="item-wrapper">
    <div class="item">...</div>
</div>

<!-- Used in another wrapper -->
<div class="other-wrapper">
    <div class="item">...</div>
</div>

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Phước Nguyễn

Do not mix styles of an element with its container

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