CSS Beauty | Goodbye CSS Beauty

Goodbye CSS Beauty

Yesterday Simon Collison wrote an interesting post where he asks whether CSS showcases are even needed any more.

Here's a quote from his post:

"Sites like Stylegala and CSS Beauty are still hugely popular and important, but perhaps only as purveyors of fresh and useful news. The showcases themselves are now little more than windows into a transitional era of web design. I think the time has come for showcase sites to diversify - and quickly - or die a death. They were important, inspirational, incessant, and we are all grateful for the role they played. That said, things move on."

I agree, CSS showcases can only last so long without morphing into something more useful. That said, I believe new comers will still find value in a site like this.

We must make a distinction between us experienced developers/designers and newcomers. CSS showcases might not be useful to some of us, but they are plenty useful to those that are still learning.

Heck, to this day schools are still teaching its students to create websites using Frontpage, using tables, nothing is being learned about separation of content from presentation or Web Standards, and what about those people that have been creating sites for years, yet know nothing about CSS and its advantages? What if they want to learn the new ways of doing things? Where will they go for inspiration? books? blogs?

That's where a site like this becomes useful, here you have a nice collection of well developed/designed CSS sites where you can see what new techniques are being used, how they are being implemented, real world examples.

I would like to think a site like CSS Beauty acts as a "hook", first you are intrigued by the looks of a site, then you become curious and want to learn how the site was developed, all of the sudden you are interested in Web Standards.

Is that not reason enough for a CSS gallery to exist?

I myself was once "hooked" when looking at a certain blog, captivated by its design. I guess you could I say I caught the "CSS Bug" because of it.

I'll be honest, I saw there was a need for change a long time ago, with the selling of CSS Vault, then UnmatchedStyle.

This is why CSS Beauty has been "diversifying", by adding a news section, a community forum, a job listing board, and recently by the addition of contributors. All for a good cause, to help those newcomers.

I am sad to see Stylegala being sold, and Web Standards Awards being closed down, but this motivates me even more to continue working on CSS Beauty.

So is this the end for CSS Showcases? the end of CSS Beauty?

I think not.

Alex Giron

(56) May 18, 2006

Comments

On May 18, 2006 2:52 AM Angela said:

I just found this page, and the first thing I saw was "Goodbye CSS Beauty." I certainly hope it's not going anywhere. I still need you!
I'm one of those who was making web pages with HTML 1.1, and am just now coming back to it. Separating content from style is the best thing to happen to web design since... ever. And there are plenty of us who still have a lot to learn.
Frankly, I'm surprised to see someone wanting to shut down and move on when CSS isn't even fully formed yet. I think it's going to evolve in very interesting ways.
Angela
angelaharms.com

On May 18, 2006 3:02 AM ratzavlatz said:

There's absolutely no reason for cssbeauty to disappear, in fact the new additions to this website have mmade it a lot better.

I got "hooked" on css because of this website, this happend about a year ago. Today I still check the website on a daily basis, for inspiration and the first glance at new techniques.

I think adding more contributers is the best idea ever, the news section has improved greatly. The news section is also great for experienced designers. I think it provides a usefull portal with a lot of good information.

So please, carry on.

Thijs

On May 18, 2006 3:05 AM henrah said:

Amen. Web-standard evangelism can't work as a diverse and persuasive force without sites like this - sites which celebrate the beauty and creativity possible with good CSS design.

Until good design becomes the norm, CSSBeaty remains a vital and inspirational resource.

On May 18, 2006 3:06 AM Tim said:

We want you CSS beauty, we need you !
Even though I rarely take the time to comment on showcases sites, I still enjoy every bite of it.
The Job Board is a great idea.
Keep it up - you're doing a great great job.

On May 18, 2006 3:37 AM poofeq said:

No way! Even though I've learned a lot from CSSbeauty, I still visit it every day to see new showcases. It definitely is inspiring and usefull, not to mention the articles and skillshare forum.

It may sound a bit awkward, but I can't imagine a morning cup of coffee without the site :)

On May 18, 2006 3:42 AM tom said:

Just want to show my support for CSS Beauty - I agree with everything you said. I visit every day despite my experience with CSS - to look for inspiration and read news, posts and jobs too.

And I always use it to show friends what can be done with CSS. Like you said, with the competitors folding it means CSS Beauty is even more necessary!

On May 18, 2006 3:43 AM Dirk Sabbe said:

Interesting idea, although it struck me as being a tad arrogant after reading this:

"CSS showcases might not be useful to some of us, but they are plenty useful to those that are still learning."

Those that are still learning? If you consider yourself ase one who needs no further learing then indeed, by all means, shut it down. Quick as you can please.

"Not learning" in an industry like this is like signing your own death warrant. Evolve or die.

On May 18, 2006 3:47 AM koan said:

First Stylegala, now you... What's wrong with you? There's a lot of people who needs sites like these.

On May 18, 2006 4:22 AM Yousf said:

Go On Css Beauty!
You really save me huge time searching for these things!
Please continue, you are doing very good job..

On May 18, 2006 4:35 AM Patric said:

Nononono. do not take away the sole source of inspiration for us. Keep it up. Please.

Patric.

On May 18, 2006 4:37 AM Colly said:

My major point is that it's almost impossible to actually select one design over another for gallery inclusion. There are simply so many great CSS-based websites out there now that if you choose one design, you ignore many equally brilliant ones.

I guess I'm saying "can we as judges still select fairly" with so many to choose from. We give one designer a leg up, and ignore many others.

I mentioned CSS Beauty in my article because I DO think it's still a vital resource.

On May 18, 2006 5:01 AM Deny said:

I think, you've bring CSS Beauty
from only CSS Showcase gallery
into something different from others
by adding forum and news section with some bunch of great contributors.

Don't you ever try to shutdown this CSS Beauty, Mr. Alex :)

On May 18, 2006 5:16 AM Joram Oudenaarde said:

I don't want to sound like a stalker or "cerealkiller" (i know... the spelling ;) ), but if you stop working on this site, I will personally come and look you up (being sarcastic here).

No way the CSS-site listings can die at a time like this! The CSS sitelistings like CSSbeauty (and all others I could find) made me a switcher from tables to CSS. These kind of sites are the main reason I'm interested in CSS, and are the number one resource to find interesting webrelated news and good designs all over the net.

Never would I have found all these beautiful sites without a site like CSSbeauty. And if that's not enough, I believe I speak for all visitors if I say that the "death" of sites like this would be an enormous waste. Beginners Ã¡nd professionals have great use for these sites... even if it's only to find and browse the good designed sites listed here. It's a great source of inspiration and knowledge!

With kind regards,
Joram Oudenaarde

On May 18, 2006 6:27 AM tomcask said:

I dont' write english, Sorry

Lo siento mucho espero que tengas fuerzas para continuar un poco mas.

Saludos y te necesitamos

I hope that you can translate my message please????

On May 18, 2006 6:50 AM Bertje said:

If you'll quit, I'll go back to building table based lay outs!

On May 18, 2006 7:48 AM Alex Giron said:

I guess I'm saying "can we as judges still select fairly" with so many to choose from. We give one designer a leg up, and ignore many others.

It's a valid point... However there is no way you could ever put all great CSS sites in one place.

CSS Beauty creates its showcase from the submissions it gets and through my daily browsing.

Doesn't mean we are ignoring other designers, it means we either didn't see the site, or it didn't get included for some reason.

The system isn't perfect, but what is?

Thank you all for the support, it means a lot.

On May 18, 2006 8:23 AM rob said:

Alex,

I couldn't agree more. Sites like yours are essential not only to the community but to those who haven't caught the Web Standards bug. There's an army of them out there and they still are using tables and don't know the power of separating content from presentation (and, more recently, from behavior). Ironically, they seem to be more in IT departments lately from what I can tell, but they're also the easiest to convince, typically. They just haven't been paying attention.

Folks see sites like the ones you feature and they know you can do great things visually with standards. Will it be comprehensive? No way, that's a pipe dream. There's this site called google to index the Web. Don't try it.

Visual design hooks people in and eliminates doubt where naysayers years ago assumed CSS based design was boring.

I've noticed a shift -- years ago it was that -- "CSS is boring". Now more and more it sparks interest when you introduce people to it and they see what great things it can do. But we still have to reach that army of people who need to know, and there's plenty out there, trust me, I've seen their resumes.

Besides, a good looking site is good looking site, and does provide inspiration on many levels, either the code or the way it looks.

How did you learn HTML first? Finding a site which looked good and viewing the source.

The more we talk about how we've done it, the more people will buy in, and there's many more who still need to learn.

I think you're on the right track. Keep it up. Diversify the site and make it about all about Web standards. We need more, not less. The question becomes, who's your audience? Those that know, or those that still need to learn? Or both? How do you address that difference?

On May 18, 2006 8:41 AM Franck said:

CSS Beauty is a great piece of website. Don't close it !

It is a powerfull tool to promote good web and to help our jobs become more important.

On May 18, 2006 8:47 AM Scott said:

CSS Beauty is a daily visit for me.

I normally don't check out the new gallery selections unless one really happens to catch my eye. I look at the news, the job postings (I'm gainfully employed, but it's always good to see what other employers are looking for) and the Skillshare forum.

I am by no means a CSS novice, yet I find the site informative and useful. The fact that a site like this - devoted to CSS/XHTML development - is a testament to the direction web design & development is heading. When I began my front end development career, people had no clue what CSS was, nor did they care. Now clients are more educated; there is a boom in front end development jobs, and people are beginning to care about standards. Sites like Zen Garden and CSS Beauty play a huge role in bringing style sheet development to the masses, and I, for one, am grateful.

Keep up the good work.

On May 18, 2006 8:50 AM John Nunemaker said:

I use these sites simply to discover other bloggers and find inspiration around the web. I think they are definitely still worth hanging around.

On May 18, 2006 8:53 AM carlos said:

I like to look at the sites. I get inspiration for them and I enjoy the artistry and execution. I think the author is speaking purely from a subjective point of view. So long as there are interesting articles and beautiful sites to look at, I will continue to visit, regardless of what the author contends.

On May 18, 2006 9:17 AM Freddy said:

I, like many others check this page every single day! So don't close down, because I think many people will agree.

Cheers

On May 18, 2006 9:19 AM Freddy said:

Agree that you should not close down that is....

My bad

On May 18, 2006 9:41 AM kosta said:

CssBeauty is definitely a valuable resource. Currently the only thing I'd add is a link to the designer's site (perhaps you or editors could take the time to review some sites and/or interview designers about it).

Keep it up!

On May 18, 2006 10:10 AM Morten Brunbjerg Bech said:

Thank God, with that headline in my feed reader, I just thought you were going to shut down CSS Beauty!

Please don't scare me with headlines like that! ;-)

On May 18, 2006 10:11 AM Rydal said:

Definitely a valuable resource!

On May 18, 2006 10:23 AM Mau said:

You scared the cr@p out of me!

I think that this type of websites is what keep web developers and web designers fueled... Inspiration at its best, and a drive to achieve better user experience on the web.

It is sad to see sites like Stylegala... but I would never think that showcase sites should be considered doomed just because they are showcases, look at the FWA... it has become the I-want-my-flash-site-to-be-listed-there type of site. If you get an FWA, you rock... If your site gets posted in any showcase, it's because you've earned it... and not only that, but you will definitely inspire someone else.

On May 18, 2006 11:03 AM Paul M. Dellostritto said:

The thing I like most about CSS showcase type sites is that they offer a wide variety of inspiration.

For me, as a user interface designer (front-end only, no coding or programming) I like to see what is new and fresh in the industry and web. I couldn't care less about being able to make a site accessible or compliant, but my team of programmers that build my designs do. They rely on sites like this and those mentioned for new coding techniques, tips, etc. as I use them for graphical inspiration and the like.

Unfortnately for me (or maybe forunately for me), I am a bit of a dying breed in the industry. I have limited coding knowledge but exceptional design skills thus leaving me in the dust to new hybrid students of design. Though there is definitely something to be said for being a web designer as opposed to being a web developer and designer. One part of the equation usually is inferior to the other.

With that said, showcase sites need to exist for everyone to enjoy and take advantage of. It is important for growth and development.

On May 18, 2006 11:04 AM yara said:

No No Nooooo,
I use this ressource since i become devellop with css. The feed, showcase, forum (very good), i not discovered another best website.

Please, make us petition for CSS BEAUTY still open .

On May 18, 2006 11:19 AM Dustin Diaz said:

Alex, you freakin' rock! Indeed, no method is perfect, but we're here to make it as best as possible. And like you said, with the recent additions to the site - we're adapting to change and making the best of it. Long live the CSSB!

On May 18, 2006 12:15 PM davyG said:

Please don't go!

Especially with the CSS Monster and skillshare sections; this site still rocks my world!

On May 18, 2006 2:07 PM corey said:

Absolutely not! I think CSS Beauty is a fantastic resource. I like the site showcases but love the news section. I think you are doing a tremendous job. Keep the information flowing!

On May 18, 2006 2:29 PM Gianna said:

What has gotten into everybody? Are we saying that CSS is so old and played out that there is no longer a need for galleries? That is insane!

It's not even just about the newcomers, what about the people who have been doing web design for years and still don't have a grip on CSS? You have no idea how many times I have to explain and re-explain CSS to people who have been doing web design twice as long as I have and are far better at it.

Galleries are not just educational and inspirational. They are the thing that pushes us as designers to top one another and strive for excellence. Are we saying there is no longer a need for any of that?

If all the galleries disappeared I'd be like a fish out of water. Who would I have to compete with? Where would I stay abreast on the current issues? Where would I find inspiration when I had designers block?

Everybody is acting like CSS is deprecated...AND IT'S NOT!! In fact it's still just getting started and the best is yet to come!

On May 18, 2006 3:14 PM Nor said:

DON'T LEAVE!!!!! This is one of the few sites I go to for inspiration!

On May 18, 2006 3:46 PM Joshua Lane said:

It's nice to hear you're still dedicated to the site Alex. I know it's a lot of work, but we all appreciate it :)

On May 18, 2006 5:06 PM Enej said:

Yeah thanks for all the work :P

On May 18, 2006 5:40 PM Sam said:

I think what makes CSS Beauty alive and very useful for us (experienced and non experienced) is it's great "Skill Share forums".

On May 18, 2006 5:45 PM Lena said:

Oh no, no no no!
I visit this site at least twice a day and find it very useful. As you wrote, school's still teach their students to work with tables, frontpage and other crap so don't even dare to close up cssbeauty 'cause you are needed.

Beside that, css showcase is only one part of this site, I don't know how many times skillshare have helped me with my problems. And don't forget all the interesting articles.

I can understand you have to spend a lot of time to manage and update css beauty, but it's worth it, belive me.

Greetings from Sweden/Lena

On May 18, 2006 6:16 PM Lefteris said:

I love CSSbeauty and visit it regularly. I'm not new in this business, I built sites since 1995 but there is always somethnig new to learn and discover.

If it was to me I would try to make it more active and open and I would integrate other aspects of design.

I like to discover new designs, trends and technics and site like this are my top favorites in my daily schedule.

On May 18, 2006 6:23 PM Pilok said:

Goodby CSSbeauty? My god, don't publish that again, I nearly had a heart attack when I checked my RSS feeds!

A lot has been said to encourage you to keep on with this great initiative so I will only say that when I found this website, the first thing I thought was "My god, when I will be old, I want to make so nice websites!!!"

This portfolio along with CSSzengarden were the ones who conviced me to change my way of designing websites.

Of course, the system is not perfect, but It can't be! This is a portfolio and, besides those "must publish design" like the reboot of Veerle's Blog or AvalonStar & others, the selection remains personnal and every CSS portfolio don't always choose the same website, that's part of the game.

But what makes CSS beauty different form others is the content. Most of the classical portfolio only select websites and order them with various criteria but CSSbeauty provides useful and standard-related ressources and that is the best mix. You show new comers "hey look what can be done with standards!" but you also give them keys to learn the techniques. And even for the long-term CSS designers, everyday this website is a source of new challenges and objectives because of the featured websites and articles.

So great job! Keep on like that!

On May 18, 2006 8:35 PM Edward said:

I'm an interactive copywriter who dabbles in design and somehow found this site. Since then I've come back and, with the help of the faithful forumites and some of the most beautiful sites to grace the web, have added CSS and XHTML to my bag o' tricks.

I'm sure that keeping up a site like this can be quite a thankless task at times, but I know that a lot of us wouldn't know what to do without it.

Thank you for a wonderful site Alex.

On May 18, 2006 8:39 PM Luke Campbell said:

I Agree, CSS Beauty is a great source for ideas, concepts and general information. Sites like this will always remain useful!

On May 18, 2006 9:32 PM Ian Gordon said:

See what happens when you make something useful and try to take it away? People revolt, if you don't want a revolution on your hands, I think you best re-consider, we web standard zealots/affectionados are a riley bunch.

On May 18, 2006 10:31 PM T. Orion said:

Please don't go...

On May 18, 2006 11:57 PM Jerome said:

CSSBeauty is my "LIFE". This site keeps me updated and i learned lots of things. Without this site, i feel like disabled or drawing left-handed. Aside from those, this is where newcomers get inspired and get motivated. Hope to learn more from CSSBEAUTY.

On May 19, 2006 2:44 AM sure said:

don't close it! i still watch you every day! this site is very good and useful

On May 19, 2006 3:28 AM David said:

I remember when I first ran into CSS Beauty and it just hit me man. I mean it really caught my eye. I'm a daily visitor and I don't know what I'd do without using all, and I mean all of the resources on this site.

It's a great site. When Scrivs sold CSS Vault I didn't know what or why, but Scrivs had his reasons. Pretty much the only CSS Gallery/Resource site I visit is CSS Beauty. It's a great site for all things inspiration.

Keep it! And keep it alive! You're needed in this community of CSS design, especially for people like me. Whether a seasoned programmer, or a novice, I'm sure many benefit from this site in more ways than you know.

Cheers!

On May 19, 2006 4:50 AM Luke S. said:

I think its important to have some historical perspective about these things (well, as historical as the web can be ;).

The CSS movement took off at the same time that the web 'design' scene was getting pretty stale, k10k (which is still going strong), surfstation.lu, DiK, & plenty of imitators were all the rage, and a site wasn't hot unless it had plenty of flash, abstract 3D, and forced full screen pop ups.

As the interest in web standards increased, people wanted to move on from the early, boxy, boring CSS based layouts and show that you could pull off sexy designs using all the advantages of CSS (hence projects like the css zen garden).

Then for a time CSS gallery sites served to show how CSS based sites could look as good, if not better, than anything else out there (what, no flash?!) and how cool it was that big corporations were jumping on the CSS bandwagon. (Remember when that was such a novelty?)

Now in mid 2006 its taken for granted that CSS and good design generally go hand in hand, which is a great thing that sites like this have helped to cultivate.

However as this has become accepted, people have generally looked more to trendiness and gimmicks to stand out, which is a shame. Design for design's sake is what led to the previous generation of design sites becoming stale, and in some ways this has become true of all the me-too CSS gallery sites. Also given the need to show that good CSS and good design aren't mutually exclsuive has dimished quite a bit, its not suprising that some of the original sites are closing/moving on.

That said, I still think there's definitely a role for showing good, standards based design, and sharing interesting links. The community needs hubs like this. It might not be the same environment as it was, but while the designs are still inspiring and the links are still interesting, I'll keep coming back :)

Appreciate all the work that goes in to making it happen!

On May 19, 2006 11:29 AM Kendall Austin said:

Thanks for being here, and for your commitment to stay. In particular, you hit my experience right on the head when you said:

"We must make a distinction between us experienced developers/designers and newcomers. CSS showcases might not be useful to some of us, but they are plenty useful to those that are still learning. . . . and what about those people that have been creating sites for years, yet know nothing about CSS and its advantages? What if they want to learn the new ways of doing things? Where will they go for inspiration? books? blogs?"

I first started designing web pages with HTML in 1999, but have only begun learning CSS in the past couple years. Since I came across CSS Beauty, it has become a big resource in my learning process.

Also, as I may get the chance to teach a high school web design class next year, I totally agree with you here.

"Heck, to this day schools are still teaching its students to create websites using Frontpage, using tables, nothing is being learned about separation of content from presentation or Web Standards . . ."

I want my students to know how to work with CSS. I want them to see how it's done, and be inspired by what they can do with it. I want them to be able to come to sites like CSS Beauty. Thank you again for your commitment to stay.

And if you ever get the feeling that you should quit, I second Bertje's threat:

"If you'll quit, I'll go back to building table based lay outs!"

On May 19, 2006 9:41 PM martin said:

Excellently said, Alex. This piece struck just the right tone - a reasonable and hopeful one. This site is not only a indispensable resource for seasoned and up-and-coming web designers (and when has any such resource outlived its usefulness?), but moreover a great piece of design itself.

I guess I'm saying "can we as judges still select fairly" with so many to choose from. We give one designer a leg up, and ignore many others.

I understand where Colly is coming from, but I think the issues around fairness or objectivity are present at all times, and don't necessarily imply that selection gets harder. I think the fact of a wider selection can be used as an opportunity to hone judgement skills and ensure a consistely high standard for included sites.

There are simply so many great CSS-based websites out there now that if you choose one design, you ignore many equally brilliant ones.

Obviously true, but again, this is a condition of judging between things that is always present (to a greater or less extent, granted). Annual book awards of various kinds, for example, suffer the same drawback. We will not always agree with the choices made by the judges, and the Equally Deserving will miss out, but is this a reason to abandon the competition, to make no judgements?

I appreciate the sensitivities involved in making the kind of judgements that showcase sites make, because those judgements can make a real difference to the careers of web designers. But with all due respect to Colly (he is a great designer and no doubt has earnt his due), I think it's no coincidence that an already well-established web person has questioned the need for CSS showcase sites.

On May 20, 2006 5:58 AM RÃ³bert SzilÃ¡gyi said: