Less Web Development Essentials

Use CSS preprocessing to streamline the development and maintenance of your web applications

Overview

• Produce clear, concise, and well-constructed code that compiles into standard compliant CSS
• Explore the core attributes of Less and learn how to integrate them into your site
• Optimize Twitter’s Bootstrap to efficiently develop web apps and sites

In Detail

Less is a CSS preprocessor that essentially improves the functionality of simple CSS with the addition of several features. The book begins by teaching you how Less facilitates the process of web development. You will quickly then move on to actually creating your first layout using Less and compiling your very first Less code.

Next, you will learn about variables and mixins and how they will help in building robust CSS code. In addition, you’ll learn how to keep your code clean and test it by using style guides. We will then move on to the concept of Bootstrapping and the strength of using Less with Twitter Bootstrap. Going one step further, you will be able to customize Twitter’s Bootstrap 3 using Less.

Finally, you will learn how to integrate Less into your WordPress themes and explore other web apps that use Less. By leveraging this powerful CSS preprocessor, you will be able to consistently produce amazing web applications while making CSS code development an enjoyable experience.

What you will learn from this book

• Compile Less code into readable and maintainable CSS
• Integrate Less into your own projects
• Reuse your code to prevent code duplications
• Reduce the development and maintenance time of your projects
• Use variables and mixins to write reusable and portable code
• Build a responsive grid with Less to create beautifully responsive site layouts
• Customize Twitter’s Bootstrap 3 with Less

Approach

Written in a practical and concise manner, this book is a crash-course in teaching you the fundamental concepts of Less with real-life examples and problems.

Who this book is written for

If you use CSS3 in your web development tasks and want to create maintainable and reusable code with Less, this book is ideal for you. Although you need to have some experience in web development, even beginners will find this book useful.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Improving Web Development with Less
Chapter 2: Using Variables and Mixins
Chapter 3: Nested Rules, Operations, and Built-in Functions
Chapter 4: Avoid Reinventing the Wheel
Chapter 5: Integrate Less in Your own Projects
Chapter 6: Bootstrap 3, WordPress, and Other Applications