How long did it take you to learn CSS?

[Shawn Gossman]

How long until you were able to master CSS?

I myself (MANY years ago) had never even explored CSS when I first started doing HTML pages. Back then, static HTML websites were the thing so I would make 100s of HTML pages and have to re-write the code over and over again, lol. One day I stumbled upon CSS and thought, this is awesome, why didn't I find this sooner LOL. It wasn't long (maybe 4 or 5 months) before I understood how to use CSS.

 

[shanatron]

CSS is really complex to get used to if you make responsive websites, but you can always used boilerplate code, you don't have to program everything from the ground up. Take a look to some of the CSS frameworks out there: Bootstrap, LESS, SASS. You will ask yourself what have you being doing before knowing them

 

[Wrong]

I don't think I ever "mastered" CSS (there are probably many things I still don't know), but it took me about 6 months to learn most of what I needed for my website, both the basics and the more complex stuff, as well as browser compatibility stuff (e.g. webkits).

 

[janvanaa]

Took me a view weeks to learn the very basics, but my knowledge is still very limited. I just kind of learn as I go.

 

[bauss]

I'm not really sure. I never learned CSS through tutorials, and I learned from just reading the code over time. I was editing layouts, and that's how I learned CSS. I looked up a few CSS tutorials, but I never followed any CSS tutorials word for word.

 

[hamz10]

Took me a few days to learn the basics of CSS, but I am still an amateur at CSS. I'm still learning how to perfect my CSS even thought it will take me a while, but it will be worth it. CSS is quite advanced when you think about it, it looks easy but is much more complex than it looks.

 

[crazycroc]

Not too long, CSS is very simple and its easy because the naming conventions make a lot of sense and are easy to memorize. It will take you a little bit more time to learn about all of the tricks that you need regarding positioning and stuff though.

 

[NickJ]

About a year. Mostly because I had a forum back in 2008 or 2009 when I had to learn CSS to design it right. Unfortunately, that was IPBFREE and they got shut down. So my beautiful design wasn't able to be saved nor my data because it was an abrupt raid sort of thing.

 

[LindaKay]

I started messing with CSS when it first hit the 'Net, back when people were super stoked about being able to scroll over links and change the colors and stuff. Then, I basically gave it up for a while, and I still have yet to master it. One of these days, one of these days...

 

[bosconian]

I've been creating websites for a long long time. Not at a professional level but just as a hobby. I have created a few personal sites and also sites for a couple of friends. I know how to use CSS but I'm far from mastering it. Most of the time when I'm developing a new site I find myself searching for the specifics of CSS at Google. But some day I will have it all figured out.

 

[limcid]

I warmed up to it pretty slowly and reluctantly at first. Then I started to see all of the cool things people were doing with it. I didn't dive into it, but started to use it more as I learned. I bounced around the w3school website a lot back in those days. I wouldn't say that I've mastered it, though. I've learned to understand its importance and advantages a little bit at a time. It's been about a couple of years.

However, with CSS3, I intend to be more formal in my studies, now that I know better.

 

[cyberian]

I got a really good grip after 2 days. The only real problem I have with CSS is the commands. There's so many different tags for your .css file, I constantly have to Google them to remember. I can write CSS whenever I want with ease though.

 

[Cybergenius]

It only took me few days to learn CSS. Although, I started by building with HTML alone which was really tedious. But once I learned about CSS, that it was the conventional way of handling designs, I upgraded myself with it. Now, I wouldn't say I've mastered it all. But, practice makes perfect. The more one uses it, the more one learns new tricks.

 

[antonygrakhat]

I think that it isn't a problem to understand its advantages by spending a few days, but it requires some years to become a pro in it.

 

[EfficientNinja]

I think it took me about one to two weeks to properly use CSS. It was like a brand new language to me and it was hard to understand at first when I was only using plain HTML. You first need to understand why you should use CSS. That will change how you will write your codes when you are transitioning from only HTML to HTML+CSS coding. Good luck!

 

[Ash]

I'm not a huge expert on CSS. Whilst I know quite a bit and most of the basics, I still wouldn't be able to design as beautiful a site as most website designers can. I still have a lot to learn which is why I still tend to only use website templates and don't design my very own websites or templates. In terms of what I do know, it didn't take me that long actually because I learned about most of the things whilst coding. I just had a look at different sites to learn about the different CSS techniques/code and only looked at tutorial sites occasionally to learn how to do something particular.

 

[behappie]

My advice to someone starting out is to create a really solid mockup -- learn the fundamentals of web design before moving into the code, especially if you're a designer coming from a more traditional background of print based design.

Once you have a mockup completed with some good direction for what you want the website to accomplish, you basically just teach yourself. Books are great to learn standard markup and to get your feet wet, but a lot of the information is very broad and useless.

Start making small websites with basic HTML and CSS and when you want to tackle something a little more ambitious, search via Google for a written explanation or YouTube for a video tutorial. I've always found it's easier to learn something as vast as coding by starting out with the things that interest you.

 

[behappie]

I don't actually think there is a time attachment to learning CSS; it is a function of one's drive and goals. Learning CSS, and indeed any skill, requires a stong desire and determination. I have seen a stark CSS novice become a veteran in 3 weeks.

 

[behappie]

I would also like to add this piece of information to my earlier contributions. As a newbie, don't skimp on relevant information or learn the shortcut first; go through the details through and through first, then you can learn the shortcut after you have mastered the skills.

 

[vhinz]

I'm not a master of CSS but I think it didn't take too long before I learned it. I'm my experience of you practice one particular skill like css on a daily basis, you could become proficient in it for 1 to 3 months.