CSS Units (em, rem) vs Viewport Units
Developers should use em and rem units when building responsive websites that need to adapt to different screen sizes or user font-size settings, as they provide flexibility and consistency across devices meets developers should learn and use viewport units when building responsive web applications that need to maintain consistent proportions across various screen sizes, such as full-screen hero sections, modals, or typography that scales with the viewport. Here's our take.
CSS Units (em, rem)
Developers should use em and rem units when building responsive websites that need to adapt to different screen sizes or user font-size settings, as they provide flexibility and consistency across devices
CSS Units (em, rem)
Nice PickDevelopers should use em and rem units when building responsive websites that need to adapt to different screen sizes or user font-size settings, as they provide flexibility and consistency across devices
Pros
- +Em is ideal for component-level styling where sizes should scale with local context, while rem is preferred for global sizing to maintain a consistent scale throughout the document, reducing complexity in CSS
- +Related to: css, responsive-design
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
Viewport Units
Developers should learn and use viewport units when building responsive web applications that need to maintain consistent proportions across various screen sizes, such as full-screen hero sections, modals, or typography that scales with the viewport
Pros
- +They are particularly useful for mobile-first design, ensuring elements like buttons or containers resize appropriately without complex media queries, and for creating immersive experiences like landing pages that fill the entire screen regardless of device
- +Related to: css, responsive-design
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
Use CSS Units (em, rem) if: You want em is ideal for component-level styling where sizes should scale with local context, while rem is preferred for global sizing to maintain a consistent scale throughout the document, reducing complexity in css and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.
Use Viewport Units if: You prioritize they are particularly useful for mobile-first design, ensuring elements like buttons or containers resize appropriately without complex media queries, and for creating immersive experiences like landing pages that fill the entire screen regardless of device over what CSS Units (em, rem) offers.
Developers should use em and rem units when building responsive websites that need to adapt to different screen sizes or user font-size settings, as they provide flexibility and consistency across devices
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