Modern CSS: Advanced Techniques for 2025

CSS continues to evolve rapidly, bringing new features that make styling more powerful and intuitive. Let's explore the cutting-edge techniques that are defining modern web design.

Container Queries

Finally, we can style elements based on their container size, not just the viewport:

.card-container {
  container-type: inline-size;
}

@container (min-width: 400px) {
  .card {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr;
  }
}

CSS Cascade Layers

Manage CSS specificity with explicit layer ordering:

@layer base, components, utilities;

@layer base {
  h1 { font-size: 2rem; }
}

@layer components {
  .heading { font-size: 1.5rem; }
}

New Color Functions

Advanced color manipulation with modern CSS:

:root {
  --primary: oklch(0.7 0.15 180);
  --accent: color-mix(in oklch, var(--primary), white 20%);
}

CSS Subgrid

Create more flexible layouts with subgrid:

.grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
}

.subgrid-item {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: subgrid;
}

View Transitions API

Smooth page transitions with CSS:

@view-transition {
  navigation: auto;
}

::view-transition-old(root) {
  animation: fade-out 0.3s ease-out;
}

These modern CSS features are transforming how we approach styling and layout in 2025!