Terms

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language like HTML. As a cornerstone technology of the web, it enables the separation of a page's content from its presentation, controlling everything from colors and fonts to the overall layout.

History and Evolution

Before CSS, styling was often mixed directly into HTML, making websites difficult to maintain. CSS was introduced to solve this problem by separating presentation from content. The first version, CSS1, was officially released by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1996.

Subsequent versions like CSS2 added more capabilities for positioning and media-specific styles. The biggest shift came with CSS3, which was broken into modules. This modular approach allowed for faster development of new features like Flexbox, Grid, and complex animations.

Key Features and Capabilities

CSS provides a powerful toolkit for web designers and developers to control the visual appearance of websites. Its core strength lies in separating a document's structure from its presentation. This separation allows for more flexible, maintainable, and accessible web design.

  • Selectors: A powerful system for targeting specific HTML elements to apply styles.
  • Cascading: A set of rules that determines how styles are applied when multiple rules conflict.
  • Layout: Advanced tools like Flexbox and Grid for creating complex, responsive page structures.
  • Responsiveness: Media queries that adapt layouts for different screen sizes and devices.
  • Reusability: External stylesheets that allow for consistent styling across an entire website with a single file.

CSS vs. SCSS

While both are used for styling web pages, CSS and SCSS differ significantly in their syntax and workflow.

  • CSS: As the standard styling language, CSS is directly interpreted by browsers without any compilation. This simplicity is ideal for smaller projects, but it can become repetitive and harder to maintain at scale due to its lack of features like variables or nesting.
  • SCSS: A preprocessor that compiles into CSS, SCSS introduces advanced features like variables, nesting, and mixins. This improves code organization and maintainability, making it a strong choice for enterprises and complex projects, though it requires a build step.

Common Use Cases

CSS is fundamental to modern web development, primarily used to transform plain HTML documents into visually appealing and functional websites. It dictates the look and feel of a site, ensuring a consistent and engaging user experience. Its applications range from simple text styling to complex page layouts.

  • Styling: Controlling colors, fonts, and spacing of web page elements.
  • Layout: Building responsive page structures that adapt to different screen sizes.
  • Animation: Creating interactive effects and transitions to enhance user engagement.
  • Branding: Maintaining a consistent visual identity across an entire website.

Best Practices and Tips

Adhering to best practices in CSS is crucial for creating scalable and maintainable websites. Clean, well-organized code not only improves performance but also makes collaboration easier for development teams. Key strategies involve balancing code organization with performance.

  • Organization: Using external stylesheets is a best practice for maintainability. It separates style from structure, but can require more HTTP requests, slightly impacting initial load times.
  • Scalability: Adopting a naming convention like BEM ensures your styles are predictable and won't conflict. However, this can introduce verbosity and may be overkill for smaller, simpler projects.

Frequently Asked Questions about CSS

How does the CSS cascade actually work?

The cascade prioritizes styles based on specificity, importance (!important), and source order. More specific selectors win, and later-defined rules override earlier ones if specificity is equal. This ensures predictable styling application across your stylesheets.

Is it better to use a framework like Bootstrap or write custom CSS?

Frameworks accelerate development with pre-built components, ideal for rapid prototyping. Custom CSS offers greater control and performance optimization, making it better for unique designs and long-term projects where brand identity is key.

What's the difference between `display: none` and `visibility: hidden`?

display: none removes the element from the document flow entirely, so it takes up no space. visibility: hidden hides the element, but it still occupies its original space in the layout, affecting the positioning of other elements.

Other terms

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Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models rank prospects by assigning points for their behaviors and demographics, helping sales teams prioritize their outreach.

Lead Scoring Models

Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization adapts your website to ensure visitors on smartphones and tablets have a seamless, user-friendly experience.

Mobile Optimization

Brag Book

Learn about brag book, including crafting your outstanding brag book, essential components of a brag book, & brag book vs. resume: unveiling the differences.

Brag Book

BANT Framework

Learn about BANT framework, including implementing BANT in sales strategy, advantages of the BANT methodology, & BANT vs. other qualification models.

BANT Framework

End of Day

End of Day (EOD) refers to the close of business hours. It's a common deadline for tasks and reports to be completed before the workday ends.

End of Day

ETL

ETL, short for Extract, Transform, Load, is a data integration process for moving raw data from various sources to a central data warehouse.

ETL

Sales Demo

A sales demo is a presentation where a sales rep shows a prospect how a product or service works and solves their specific problems.

Sales Demo

Net 30

Net 30 is a common payment term where a client has 30 calendar days from the invoice date to pay for goods or services in full.

Net 30

80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule, or Pareto Principle, posits that 80% of results come from just 20% of the effort. It's a key concept for prioritization.

80/20 Rule

Voice Broadcasting

Voice broadcasting is an automated system that delivers a pre-recorded voice message to a large list of phone numbers simultaneously.

Voice Broadcasting

Sales Plan Template

A sales plan template is a reusable document that outlines your sales strategy, goals, and tactics, providing a clear roadmap for your team.

Sales Plan Template

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Triggered Email

A triggered email is an automated message sent to a user in response to a specific action or event, like signing up or making a purchase.

Triggered Email

Trigger Marketing

Trigger marketing uses customer actions or events to automatically send highly relevant, personalized messages at the perfect moment.

Trigger Marketing

AppExchange

AppExchange is Salesforce's cloud marketplace, offering a vast ecosystem of apps and expert services to extend Salesforce functionality.

AppExchange

Ideal Customer Profile

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the perfect, hypothetical company that would get the most value from your product.

Ideal Customer Profile

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Decision Maker

A decision-maker is an individual with the authority to make significant choices for a company, especially regarding purchases or strategy.

Decision Maker

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content

OAuth

OAuth is an open standard for access delegation. It lets you grant apps access to your data on other services without sharing your password.

OAuth

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is a cloud model where the provider manages servers, so developers can focus on code without worrying about infrastructure.

Serverless Computing

Hadoop

Hadoop is an open-source framework designed for the distributed storage and processing of extremely large data sets across clusters of computers.

Hadoop

Lead Qualification Process

The lead qualification process is how you determine which prospects are most likely to become customers by evaluating them against specific criteria.

Lead Qualification Process

Challenger Sales

The Challenger Sales model is a methodology where reps teach prospects, tailor their pitch, and take control of the sales conversation.

Challenger Sales

Sales Metrics

Sales metrics are quantifiable data points that track and measure a sales team's performance against specific goals and objectives.

Sales Metrics

Sales Velocity

Sales velocity is a key metric measuring the speed at which your company makes money. It shows how fast deals move through your sales pipeline.

Sales Velocity

Sales Pitch

A sales pitch is a persuasive presentation of a product or service, aimed at convincing a potential customer to make a purchase.

Sales Pitch

Performance Monitoring

Performance monitoring involves collecting and analyzing data to track a system's operational health and efficiency, ensuring it meets set standards.

Performance Monitoring

Customer Relationship Management Systems

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a tool that centralizes customer data to help manage interactions and nurture relationships.

Customer Relationship Management Systems

Sales Demonstration

A sales demonstration is a presentation showing a prospect how a product or service works and how it can solve their specific problems.

Sales Demonstration

Contract Management

Contract management is the process of creating, executing, and analyzing contracts to maximize performance and minimize financial risk.

Contract Management

Programmatic Display Campaign

Programmatic display campaigns use automation to buy and sell digital ad space in real-time, targeting specific audiences across the web.

Programmatic Display Campaign

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising uses AI and real-time bidding to automate the buying and selling of digital ad space, targeting specific audiences.

Programmatic Advertising

Amortization

Amortization is the process of spreading out a loan or the cost of an intangible asset over a specific period for accounting and tax purposes.

Amortization

Trusted Advisor

A trusted advisor is an expert who builds a deep client relationship by consistently prioritizing their best interests over any single transaction.

Trusted Advisor

Lightning Components

Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.

Lightning Components

Master Service Agreement

A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a foundational contract that sets the general terms for an ongoing business relationship between two parties.

Master Service Agreement

Sales Automation

Sales automation uses software to streamline and automate repetitive, manual sales tasks, freeing up reps to focus on selling.

Sales Automation

Bottom of the Funnel

Learn about bottom of the funnel, including maximizing conversions at the funnel's end, & strategies for nurturing bottom-funnel leads.

Bottom of the Funnel

No Forms

No Forms is a method for capturing lead data directly from your website visitors' profiles without requiring them to fill out any forms.

No Forms

Channel Sales

Channel sales is an indirect sales model where a company leverages third-party partners, such as resellers or affiliates, to sell its products.

Channel Sales

B2B Data Platform

Learn about B2B data platform, including key benefits of B2B data platforms, choosing the right B2B data platform, challenges in implementing B2B data platforms.

B2B Data Platform

Content Delivery Network

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a system of distributed servers that deliver web content to users based on their geographic location.

Content Delivery Network

Application Performance Management

Application Performance Management (APM) monitors and manages an application's performance, availability, and the experience of its end-users.

Application Performance Management

Data Encryption

Data encryption translates data into another form, or code, so that only people with access to a secret key or password can read it.

Data Encryption

Kanban

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses a board to visualize workflow, limit work-in-progress, and maximize team efficiency.

Kanban

Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is the ongoing, value-driven relationship a business builds with its customers to foster brand loyalty and awareness.

Customer Engagement

Channel Marketing

Channel marketing is a strategy where a company sells its products or services through third-party partners, like resellers or affiliates.

Channel Marketing

Nurture Campaign

A nurture campaign is a series of automated messages designed to build relationships with potential customers and guide them toward a purchase.

Nurture Campaign

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance (QA) is the systematic process of ensuring a product or service meets specified quality standards from development to delivery.

Quality Assurance

D2C

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) is a sales strategy where a brand sells its products directly to end customers, bypassing any third-party retailers.

D2C

Rapport Building

Rapport building is the process of establishing a connection and mutual understanding with someone, creating a foundation of trust and affinity.

Rapport Building

Virtual Private Cloud

A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a secure, isolated section of a public cloud. It lets you provision your own logically isolated resources.

Virtual Private Cloud

Consultative Sales

Consultative selling is a sales approach where a salesperson acts as an advisor, focusing on understanding and solving a customer's specific needs.

Consultative Sales

Multi-Channel Marketing

Multi-channel marketing uses various platforms—like email, social media, and direct mail—to engage with customers wherever they are.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Sales Forecast

A sales forecast is a projection of future sales revenue. It's a crucial tool for businesses to make informed decisions and allocate resources.

Sales Forecast

Service Level Agreement

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract defining the level of service between a provider and a client, including metrics and penalties.

Service Level Agreement

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts a victim's files, holding them hostage until a ransom is paid for the decryption key.

Ransomware

Marketo

Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.

Marketo

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Data Cleansing

Data cleansing, or data scrubbing, is the process of detecting and correcting inaccurate records from a dataset to improve data quality.

Data Cleansing

Persona-Based Marketing

Persona-based marketing uses fictional customer profiles, or personas, to create targeted messaging for specific audience segments.

Persona-Based Marketing

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of developing and reinforcing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel.

Lead Nurturing

Dialer

A dialer is software that automatically dials phone numbers for agents, boosting call efficiency and connecting them to live prospects faster.

Dialer

Bounce Rate

Learn about bounce rate, including understanding bounce rate implications, key factors affecting bounce rate, & reducing your bounce rate effectively.

Bounce Rate

Sandboxes

A sandbox is an isolated testing environment where new or untrusted code can be run safely without affecting the host device or network.

Sandboxes

Unit Economics

Unit economics are the direct revenues and costs of a business calculated on a per-unit basis, revealing its fundamental profitability.

Unit Economics

Content Curation

Content curation involves gathering, organizing, and sharing the most relevant online content on a specific topic for a particular audience.

Content Curation

Sales Sequence

A sales sequence is a series of automated touchpoints sent to prospects over time to guide them through the sales funnel.

Sales Sequence

Digital Analytics

Digital analytics is the analysis of data from digital channels to understand user behavior and optimize online experiences for business goals.

Digital Analytics

Drupal

Drupal is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) for building websites and applications. It's known for its robust flexibility.

Drupal

Sender Policy Framework

Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email authentication method that lets you specify which mail servers can send emails on behalf of your domain.

Sender Policy Framework

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is a web service that uses a simple, stateless architecture for systems to communicate online.

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

Marketing Analytics

Marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing marketing data to understand campaign performance and improve return on investment (ROI).

Marketing Analytics

Conversational Intelligence

Conversational intelligence (CI) is AI technology that analyzes customer conversations to find insights that help sales and support teams improve.

Conversational Intelligence

AI-Powered Marketing

AI marketing uses artificial intelligence to analyze data, automate decisions, and deliver personalized customer experiences at scale.

AI-Powered Marketing

Salesforce Object Query Language

Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) is a query language used to search your organization's Salesforce data for specific information.

Salesforce Object Query Language

B2B Data Solutions

Learn about B2B data solutions, including unlocking the power of B2B data, & key components of effective B2B data solutions.

B2B Data Solutions

Shipping Solutions

Shipping solutions are services or software that streamline the logistics of getting products to customers, from label printing to final delivery.

Shipping Solutions

B2B Sales

Learn about B2B sales, including key strategies for B2B success, types of B2B sales models, & B2B vs. B2C sales: understanding the differences.

B2B Sales

Customer Data Management (CDM)

Customer Data Management (CDM) is the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing customer data to create a unified view of your audience.

Customer Data Management (CDM)

Letter of Intent

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is a document declaring the preliminary commitment of one party to do business with another, outlining the chief terms.

Letter of Intent

PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an internet advertising model where businesses pay a fee each time one of their online ads is clicked by a user.

PPC

Buying Process

The buying process is the journey a customer takes from first realizing a need to making a final purchase decision and evaluating it afterward.

Buying Process

Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is the journey a person takes from first becoming aware of your brand to becoming a loyal, repeat customer.

Customer Lifecycle

Big Data

Learn about big data, including understanding big data characteristics, benefits of leveraging big data, & challenges in managing big data.

Big Data

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is the process of segmenting consumers into specific groups to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.

Audience Targeting

Digital Contracts

Digital contracts are legally binding agreements created, signed, and stored electronically, offering a faster, more secure alternative to paper.

Digital Contracts

Marketing Operations

Marketing Operations (MOps) is the engine of a marketing team, managing the technology, processes, and people to run campaigns effectively.

Marketing Operations

Salesforce Administrator

A Salesforce Administrator is a certified professional who manages and customizes the Salesforce platform to meet a company's specific business needs.

Salesforce Administrator

Business Intelligence

Learn about business intelligence, including key components of business intelligence, the role of BI in decision making, business intelligence tools and techniques.

Business Intelligence

Account-Based Everything

Account-Based Everything (ABE) is a strategy aligning sales, marketing, and success teams to focus on a specific set of high-value accounts.

Account-Based Everything

Funnel Analysis

Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.

Funnel Analysis

CI/CD

CI/CD, or Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery, automates software builds, tests, and deployments for faster, more reliable releases.

CI/CD

Account-Based Marketing Benchmarks

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) benchmarks are key metrics used to measure the performance and success of your targeted account strategies.

Account-Based Marketing Benchmarks

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

Business to customer

Learn about business to customer, including maximizing B2C sales strategies, B2C vs. B2B: unveiling differences, & core principles of B2C success.

Business to customer

Upsell

Upselling is a sales tactic encouraging customers to purchase a higher-end version of a product or related add-ons to boost revenue.

Upsell

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis means identifying your rivals and assessing their strategies to pinpoint your own business's strengths and weaknesses.

Competitive Analysis

Sales Enablement Content

Sales enablement content refers to the materials and tools that empower your sales team to engage prospects and close deals more efficiently.

Sales Enablement Content