How To Add Comments In CSS For You And Other Developers

Comments in CSS make your CSS code cleaner and more organized. Which allows web developers to easily read and manage code over time. Whether you are coding alone or with a team, adding comments in CSS at the right places can make your work smoother and help others to understand your code, even after a long time.

In this guide, we will explain everything you need to know about comments in CSS, from basic syntax to how to add comments in CSS for yourself and even for other developers. So, without wasting much of your time, let us begin with the article and understand this topic clearly.

Table of Contents

What is CSS?

Before moving further with the article, let us brush up our basics first by understanding what CSS is and what role it plays in web development.

So, CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a language used to style and design web pages. It controls how elements like text, images, and layouts appear on a website. With CSS, you can change colors, fonts, and spacing, and even create responsive website designs that look good on different screen sizes. In simple terms, while HTML creates the structure of a webpage, CSS makes it visually appealing by adding style and design to it.

What are Comments In CSS?

Comments In CSS are statements used inside the code for explanatory purposes. The compiler ignores them during execution, and anything written inside the comments is not executed. They are used to explain the code and help make it more readable for others.

The Basic syntax followed by comments in CSS is written below for your reference

Comment Syntax In CSS

/* Contents*/

They are opened with */ and closed with */ tags. Anything inside these tags is not executed. We can also use <!—> syntax used for commenting, but this was mainly supported in older browsers. We can use comments in our code to make it more readable. It can help others to understand the code and also help you review it later when needed.

CSS comments are only for the benefit of developers and maintainers to understand the code. They are not rendered in HTML or displayed in the browser. A well-documented, organized, and readable CSS code base must always have comments.

They can assist you in clarifying your styling decisions, offering context, and facilitating communication and collaboration with other developers on your projects. In addition, comments are helpful when temporarily disabling CSS rules for testing new styles or troubleshooting purposes.

Types Of Comments In CSS

There are two types of comments used in CSS. We will understand about both in detail in this article.

Single Line Comments

Single-line comments in CSS begin with // and extend to the end of the line. Everything after // on that line is considered a comment, which is ignored by the browser, and not executed during compilation.

They are used to add explanations or notes to your stylesheet. The browser ignores these comments and is only meant for developers and maintainers to understand the code. Single-line comments in CSS start with `//` and extend to the end of the line.

Where Single Lines Comments In CSS Are used?

Single line comments are frequently used for summaries or annotations in your CSS code.
Single line comments in CSS are used to provide information about a specific line of code.
You can use a string of one-line comments if you need to add extensive notes or annotations that span multiple lines.

Let us understand it more with an example here in the table.

Single Line Comments In CSS

p {

color: blue; //This is a single-line comment //

}

In the above code, The text written after the // symbol is a single-line comment. These comments help to add brief clarifications to your code or temporarily disable particular CSS lines for testing or debugging. They are a good practice to make your stylesheet easier for you and other developers to understand.

Multiple Line Comments In CSS

Multiple line comments in CSS do not have a unique syntax but are generally represented using */……*/ syntax. They are often used for enclosing multiline comments. Comments with more than one line are supported using multiline comments. It can also be used to represent single-line comments if needed.

Multi-Line Comments In CSS

/* This is a multi-line comment.

It spans multiple lines, but it can also be achieved

by using a series of single-line comments. */

p {

font-size: 16px;

}

What Is Commenting Out In CSS?

Commenting out in CSS involves wrapping code with special comment marks (/* */) to disable it. This handy practice allows developers to deactivate specific styling instructions while preserving the code for future use. It also acts as an innovative means of maintaining entire sections of CSS code intact, ensuring they’re ready for use down the line without the need for deletion.

During the testing and debugging stages of CSS development, comments are constructive. Developers can experiment with various styling options because when a style declaration is tucked inside a comment, the web browser cannot see it, effectively hiding it from view.

Commenting Out In CSS

p {

color: blue;

background-color: #F0A302;

font-size: 18px;

margin: 20px;

border: 2px solid #4CAF50;

padding: 15px;

text-align: center;

}

With the help of the multiline comment tag, we can comment out the style code for later use. It helps us to explore different options without deleting the code under the comments. It helps us during the debugging and testing phases of development.

Practical Uses Of Comments In CSS

Comments In CSS are used for variety of purposes, making them an essential part of web development process. Let us understand some of the practical uses of comments in CSS by going through the points written below:

Documentation- CSS comments are helpful for many reasons. They allow you to explain why certain styles are used, you can provide notes to other programmers, or remind yourself of specific parts of the code. This helps you to maintain the proper documentation of your CSS document.
Code Temporary Disablement- You can also use comments in CSS to temporarily disable parts of your CSS codes without deleting them. This is useful when you want to test different styles or fix issues without losing your code.
Collaboration- Comments in CSS are important when working with other developers too. They help you to share ideas, offer suggestions, or discuss sections of the code, making teamwork smoother.
Future Reference- For future use, comments remind you of the purpose behind certain styles. They provide context, helping you make changes or solve problems faster.
Organization Of Code- Comments help organize your code by dividing it into sections or highlighting key parts. This makes your CSS cleaner and easier to navigate.

Things To Remember While Using Comments In CSS

Commenting in CSS seems an easy task, isn’t it?

While commenting is an easy task, there are also several things to keep in mind while using comments in CSS, let us understand these factors so that you can write efficient and clean code.

Code Bloat- Code bloat happens when extra or unnecessary comments are added to CSS files which can certainly make the code look complex and harder to understand. While faster internet speeds may reduce its impact, large files can still slow down page loading times.
Outdated Comments- Outdated comments can also become a problem. As the code changes, some comments may no longer describe the current code. Which can cause confusion and mistakes for anyone working with it. So, it is important to update comments regularly with the updating of code.
Maintaining Comments- Maintaining comments requires time and effort. Developers need to make sure comments are accurate and up-to-date whenever they change the code.
Code Cluttering- Too many comments or poorly structured ones can clutter the code, making it harder to read. It is difficult to find important details if there’s a lot of unnecessary information.
Code Duplication- Explaining simple code with comments can lead to repetition and reduce the clarity of the code. Comments should only provide extra information that’s not already clear from the code itself.

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Comments In CSS FAQs

What are comments used for in CSS?

Comments are used as an explanation tag in our code. We often use it when multiple developers work on the same project. It makes our code more readable and understandable.

How many types of comments are there in CSS?

There are generally two types of comments used in CSS. There are Single-line comments and multi-line comments.

How do I use single-line comments in CSS?

The syntax for singline line comments is enclosed under the //—-// tag. They generally enclose a single-line sentence.

How do I write a CSS comment?

It is effortless to use CSS comments. You just need to put the plain text inside the // tag for single-line comments. You can use /*---/* to enclose a multi-line comment.

Why are single-line comments in CSS never used?

Single-line comments are often not used. Imagine if all your CSS has been compressed to one line, then what happens with //? Everything after that would be commented out. Therefore, // has never been introduced in CSS to maintain backward compatibility and prevent breaking web files.