CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is a stylesheet language that describes
the presentation of web documents. Web pages that are written in HTML
and XHTML can be styled in many ways by using CSS. In fact CSS allows
to separate the stylistic elements of the web page like layout, color
and fonts from the content matter like textual paragraphs and images.
This is called separation of content from presentation.
Separation of Content from Presentation
The
separation improves the accessibility of content on the web pages.
Moreover, it provides flexibility and control in the specification of
presentation characteristics at the same time reducing complexity and
repetition in the structural content.
CSS also allows the web
page to be presented in different styles so that it suits different
rendering methods. The web content is thus made available in various
forms like on-screen, print, voice modes (speech-based browsers and
screen readers) etc.
While CSS offers a plethora of benefits on
the Internet, a good knowledge of the same is required if you need to
employ it for your website. Therefore, to really reap the benefits of
CSS and make it work for your online presence, you should invest
quality time in learning its nuances.
Why is CSS good for Google?
CSS
has a considerable impact on how Google views your website. In fact,
you can soar your website’s chances to rank well in the Google search
results by employing CSS efficiently. CSS has many benefits with
respect to Google.
• It shrinks the file sizes on your web pages
• It grants more control over the structure of the web pages
• It allows for certain content information to be hidden by browsers yet be visible to Google crawlers.
Let us understand all these potential benefits in detail:
Smaller File Sizes
Without
CSS, all the styles on your web pages require to be supported by
appropriate HTML coding. And this bloats up the file size which further
adds up on the load time of the website.
CSS takes out the style
from the HTML pages and puts into another separate file called the css
file. This reduces the amount of code on the web pages. Lesser amount
of code means smaller sizes of files and this is something Google
prefers in the web pages on the Internet. Ideally, web pages should not
be more that 100 kb.
Moreover, smaller file sizes also cause the
pages to load quickly. This increases the accessibility and pleases
your website visitors.
Increased Control over Web Pages
With
CSS, you are able to structure the documents of your web pages as per
the HTML standards at the same time retaining the look and feel of the
page. Better structure with the same visual appeal is what CSS grants
you.
Google prefers well structured web pages that score well on
the design aspects too. And CSS allows website designers to do just the
same. They can create attractive websites that not only are a treat to
look at but also adheres to the standards and guidelines of the web.
Hiding Content from Browsers
With
CSS, you can hide bits and chunks of content that you don’t want the
browser to read yet want Google crawlers to take into account. For
example, you may have certain content on your website that you want to
appear only on vice versa. CSS makes it possible to camouflage certain
text without loosing on the chances of being picked up by Google.
