Why you should be using Tailwind CSS.

Spending countless hours writing CSS code to perfect your web application's design is exhausting, isn't it? Being modern-day developers, we want speed and efficiency, and having to write tons of CSS code isn't efficient.

In this blog, we'll look at the basics of Tailwind CSS, its advantages, how it compares to other frameworks and how to get started with it.

So, What is Tailwind CSS?

TailwindCSS is a utility-first CSS framework that provides a set of pre-designed, atomic-level utility classes for building Modern Web Design. It allows developers to build highly customized user interfaces without writing a single line of CSS from scratch.

The learning process would be accelerated if you have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. Having a basic knowledge of responsive design will be really beneficial.

What are the benefits of Tailwind CSS?

Rapid Development

Tailwind CSS accelerates your development process significantly. In traditional CSS, we would have to name all the classes and think about which one should be generic and which one more specific.

With Tailwind, it provides a comprehensive set of utility classes that you can apply directly to your HTML components. You can leverage these utility classes to style your components quickly. This streamlined approach saves you time and effort, allowing you to build websites or applications at a way faster pace.

Performance Optimization

The best feature of Tailwind CSS is its ability to optimize performance. By utilizing a utility-first approach, it generates leaner CSS files compared to traditional CSS frameworks. Smaller file sizes lead to faster load times, reducing bandwidth usage and improving the overall user experience.

Tailwind CSS includes a built-in utility called PurgeCSS, which analyzes your HTML and JavaScript files to detect and remove unused utility classes from the final CSS output. By purging unused styles, you further optimize performance by reducing the CSS file size and eliminating unnecessary rendering and parsing.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in creating a professional and polished user interface. Tailwind CSS promotes a standardized approach to styling by using utility classes consistently across your project.

In practice, the design looks better when they have consistent values for sizes, color, etc. This consistency ensures that your codebase remains clean and maintainable, making it easier for you and other developers to understand, update, and debug the CSS code.

Customization

Another important feature of Tailwind CSS is that it's highly customizable, giving you complete control over the visual design of your project. The utility classes provided by Tailwind CSS cover a wide range of styles, but if you need to customize or extend them, you have the flexibility to do so.

You can easily override default styles, add new utility classes, or even create your own utility classes tailored to your project's specific requirements with your project's tailwind.config.js file. This level of customization empowers you to create unique and visually appealing designs.

Why not use other popular frameworks like Bootstrap?

Bootstrap has been the go-to option when choosing a styling framework for a long period of time. With Bootstrap you can create pre-designed components quickly using utility classes. You will be able to create great-designed components even faster than using Tailwind. So why should we use Tailwind?

Customization in Tailwind is unparalleled. You can customize your components as much as you want if using Tailwind, on the other hand, Bootstrap doesn't have a direct feature to customize your components. With Tailwind performance will be great as well because of all the features it has like PurgeCSS.

Therefore with all the features Tailwind provides, it's pretty much clear that it is better than the other frameworks out there.

Ok, but there must be some Drawbacks, right?

Well, yeah there are some drawbacks to Tailwind CSS. Although it has shown some amazing advantages to using the framework, it definitely isn't perfect. Let's look at some of its disadvantages.

Too many classes

This is probably the biggest disadvantage of Tailwind CSS. The styling is primarily done through utility classes. While this approach offers flexibility and customization, it can result in an increased amount of HTML code. Sometimes there are too many class names which results in unclean code. Someone who is unfamiliar with the code will be overwhelmed to see so much together.

<div
  class="w-16 h-16 rounded text-white bg-black py-1 px-2 m-1 text-sm md:w-32 md:h-32 md:rounded-md md:text-base lg:w-48 lg:h-48 lg:rounded-lg lg:text-lg"
>
Hello
</div>

The above code is a great example of how complex Tailwind CSS code can be. You even need to scroll to see all the classes used here!

No Predefined Components

Unlike Bootstrap, which provides a wide range of prebuilt components, Tailwind CSS does not come with ready-to-use components out of the box. This means that developers have to create or assemble components themselves using the utility classes provided by Tailwind CSS. While this allows for greater customization, it can be more time-consuming, especially for projects that heavily rely on predefined components.

Steeper Learning Curve

Tailwind CSS has a steeper learning curve compared to more traditional CSS frameworks like Bootstrap. Since it follows a utility-first approach, developers need to familiarize themselves with the extensive set of utility classes and their corresponding styles. This initial learning phase may require additional time and effort to grasp the concepts and effectively utilize Tailwind CSS in projects.

Setting up Tailwind CSS

Let's look at the steps to set up Tailwind CSS in your project.

First, Initialize the Directory as a Node.js Project.
```
 npm init -y
```

Next, Install Tailwind CSS.

 npm install -D tailwindcss
 npx tailwindcss init

Add the paths to all of your template files in your tailwind.config.js file.

 /** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
 module.exports = {
   content: ["./src/**/*.{html,js}"],
   theme: {
     extend: {},
   },
   plugins: [],
 }

Now, Add the @tailwind directives for each of Tailwind’s layers to your main CSS file.
```
 @tailwind base;
 @tailwind components;
 @tailwind utilities;
```
Run the CLI tool to scan your template files for classes and build your CSS.
```
 npx tailwindcss -i ./src/input.css -o ./dist/output.css --watch
```
Now you can use Tailwind CSS classes in your HTML files.

For installation with other frameworks, visit the Tailwind CSS documentation page:
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/installation/framework-guides

Good resources to learn Tailwind CSS?

ChatGPT might be helpful to provide you with great ideas using Tailwind CSS. Other resources are The Official Docs, the Official Youtube channel, and even their official newsletter provides a great deal of information.

Conclusion

TailwindCSS is a powerful and flexible CSS framework that offers a unique approach to web development. By leveraging the power of Tailwind CSS, you can streamline your development process, improve code consistency, and create visually stunning websites and applications.

It is not a perfect styling framework but it is one which is performance optimized and fast! So, if you haven't tried it yet, it's time to give Tailwind CSS a go and experience the magic it brings to your projects. Happy coding!