Preprocessors, Components, and CSS in JS or - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Website

Explore the evolution of frontend web development and CSS technologies in this CSSconf EU 2018 talk. Dive into Jackie Balzer's journey through Behance's codebase over seven years, covering major redesigns, framework changes, and technological shifts. Learn how to choose and implement new technologies, manage large-scale rewrites, balance technical debt, and maintain developer sanity. Gain insights on adopting preprocessors, components, and CSS-in-JS solutions while navigating the challenges of a growing and fragmented codebase. Discover practical strategies for evolving your website's frontend architecture, from early CSS implementations to modern frameworks like Vue.js and CSS Modules.

Introduction
Frontend Web Development Ecosystem
Adopting New Technologies
Industry Pressure
Evolving the codebase
The right way to build a website
Website size and complexity
Back in 2010
Visual flair
CSS as a language
Theme galleries
Preprocessors
Why we chose Less
Less as a proof of concept
Cut some corners
Violations of best practices
Benefits of CSS
Balance between technical implementation and developer and designer happiness
Action Method Online
Responsive Behance
Adobe Portfolio
Homegrown Frameworks
Behance
Looking for new technology
Implementing new technology
Arc of CSS development
Bee Hans dirty laundry
Three templating engines
Chrome
Responsive
Conclusion