CSS3 Foundations

chapter two

Getting Started

As you make your way through CSS3 Foundations, you learn CSS from the basics to the more advanced topics, all the while adding to an overall project that will eventually become a fully featured web page.

Often, I find the best way to learn new things is to create a scenario with particular restrictions and an end goal. In doing this, you can focus on reaching that end goal by limiting the number of choices you have to make (an infinite number of choices is often scary and off-putting, so it’s always good to define boundaries!). This approach to learning also means you have to make some real-world decisions to get the best possible outcome for the project.

So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to the fictitious company Cool Shoes & Socks (CSS for short—get it?).

The folks at Cool Shoes & Socks have asked you to style the company’s website for them. This web-savvy company, like the name says, sells cool shoes and socks. The staff have given you the go-ahead to use CSS3 on the website; their only caveat is that you must make the website gracefully degrade in browsers that don’t support CSS3. The company is also very aware that the web is accessed on many different types of devices (and its underfunded research department has determined socks will be able to access the web in the near future), so having a Responsive Web Design is very important to everyone involved.

Cool Shoes & Socks has already had the HTML of the site written and handed ...