The Story of CSS — Bringing Style to the Web | Codeksha

Back in the early 1990s, the web was a plain, black-and-white text jungle. Websites were built using only HTML, and designers had zero control over how pages looked. Everything was bland and boring.

“Websites needed a makeover — that’s when Håkon Wium Lie stepped in.”

In 1994, Håkon Wium Lie, a visionary working at CERN, proposed Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). His idea? Separate content (HTML) from design (CSS) so developers could easily control fonts, colors, spacing, and layouts without messy hacks.

CSS brought style, flexibility, and power to web pages. It let designers turn a simple webpage into an experience with colors, animations, responsive layouts, and much more.

Today, CSS is the magic behind every modern, beautiful website. Without it, the internet would still be stuck in the ‘90s.

Crafted by Nishchay Pandya. Part of the “Origins of Web Tech” blog series.