CSS audits

I’ve been fortunate in the last few months to work on quite a few different projects and each one has had unique needs. I’ve refactored and cleaned up code, I’ve added on to an existing application, I’ve created a layout system and taken care of front ends needs for an application, and I’ve done a CSS audit.

I’ve enjoyed the variety and the very nature of doing different types of work, and as I recently wrote, refactoring has been more fun than I anticipated, but the CSS audit was also surprisingly fun. I realize it is something I’d love to do more in the future. I chatted with the client about expecations, gained access to the code, and went to work.

What is becoming standard for me when evaluating styles on a site is to start by running Type-o-matic. Type styles can give a great indication of areas where things can be made modular for more resuse as either mixins or just classes depending on how the client is architecting their CSS. Then I just start reading through the CSS files and inspecting away. It’s so much fun to dig into how other people have written their CSS, I love that part. I learn as much going through things and thinking about how to make them better as I do reading articles and watching tutorials.

Being forced to write out recomendations makes me think through what my process is, if it makes sense, how much work it would be to implement, and more. I’ve started to cement a lot of what I’ve been doing in the past when writing CSS and making that into a process that others could follow as well. Extra eyes can be helpful when you get mired in the weeds, and I enjoy providing those eyes to projects.

All of this is to say, do you want some feedback on your CSS and how things are? Do you feel like extra eyes may be helpful for your team? Let me know because I love doing it and would happily jump into your code and take a look.