CSS3 introduces a brand new toolset to web developers, and along with it they receive a new level of freedom and possibility. A friend of mine, who is a web designer, recently commented that many of the effects that he could create only through a graphics package is now achievable entirely through CSS. And it’s true: drop shadows, rounded corners, and gradients can all be achieved using CSS3. He joked that as a result he would no longer be required, that he would be replaced by developers who can now conceptualise everything straight into the browser, which, of course, is untrue. I’m sure any developer reading this will agree that building a site and making it look good are two completely different things. What CSS3 does offer though, is a new and more importantly, quicker way of experimenting with a site to see whether ideas work or not, rather than opening up Photoshop to tweak a graphic before importing it into your project.

Browser Support

CSS3 is backward compatible, and offers far more than just drop shadows and gradients. For example you can create reflections and transitions, and even basic animations; but one problem I’ve always had in adopting these new technologies, especially when working in a rapid application environment, is that CSS3 isn’t supported by every client’s browser of choice. The good news is that it is now supported by the latest versions of all major browsers.

In their wisdom, W3C separated CSS3 into modules, allowing for each module to be tested and standardised individually. For a full list of the modules currently on offer, in testing, and in development, visit the following site CSS3.

As the modules were completed they were adopted by the browsers. Some included them in early versions, whilst they have only recently been incorporated into others: Microsoft, for instance have only introduced significant CSS3 support in IE9.

CSS3 Implementations

As its adoption has become more widespread amongst web developers, CSS3 has been used to create some eye-catching web sites.