In short, the main difference between inline CSS and external CSS is that the former is processed faster as it only requires the browser to download one file, while external CSS will require downloading HTML and CSS files separately.Inline
As Inline has the highest priority, any styles that are defined in the internal and external style sheets are overridden by Inline styles. Internal or Embedded stands second in the priority list and overrides the styles in the external style sheet. External style sheets have the least priority.Using internal CSS is considered a better practice than using inline CSS because it is easier to maintain and results in less code. Internal CSS allows you to style groups of elements at once, rather than having to add the same style attributes to elements over and over again.
What is the primary advantage in using external CSS versus embedded or inline CSS : External CSS helps avoid extraneous information and makes HTML files tidy and small. You may organise the styles with it. As an illustration, the styles for one area of a website may be preserved in a different file, and those for the other section(s) could be kept in a different file. It makes navigation simple.
Which CSS is fastest
Inline CSS is often faster because it skips 1 or more network requests. CSS blocks the rendering of the page. While the CSS files are being fetched from the server, your browser blocks and delays the rendering of the page.
Which type of CSS is faster : External CSS can have a slightly higher impact on performance, as the CSS file needs to be fetched from the server through an HTTP request. However, once the CSS file is cached by the browser, subsequent page loads will be faster.
An inline style has the highest precedence because it's literally written on the element. On the other hand, browser default styles (think Times New Roman, 16pt) are easily overwritten because they are farthest “away” from the element.
Separation of concerns: External CSS allows you to separate your styles from your HTML content, which makes your code more organized, easier to read, and more maintainable. Reusability: External CSS allows you to reuse the same styles across multiple pages on your website, which saves time and reduces code duplication.
Why inline CSS has highest priority than external CSS
An inline style has the highest precedence because it's literally written on the element. On the other hand, browser default styles (think Times New Roman, 16pt) are easily overwritten because they are farthest “away” from the element.Best practices for improving CSS performance
- Write simple selectors.
- Avoid excessive animations.
- Know when to animate expensive properties.
- Avoid the @import statement.
- Optimize your file sizes.
- Avoid base64 bitmap images.
- Compress your CSS.
- Lazy load your CSS.
You can make your CSS files lighter and faster to load by shrinking your CSS – that is, you can remove extra spaces and lines (this is called minifying). Then you can compress these files so they're smaller and quicker for users to download.
Disadvantages of Inline CSS:
It's difficult to keep up, reuse, and scale. The size and download time of your page can be affected by styling multiple elements. Inline styles cannot be used to style pseudo-elements and pseudo-classes.
Why avoid inline CSS : The build-up of the inline CSS styles often translates into code duplication, making the project harder to maintain when the same style needs to be changed in several places. The same applies to the inline JavaScript snippets, as they cannot be reused across Screens or Web Blocks.
Is external CSS faster : In short, the main difference between inline CSS and external CSS is that the former is processed faster as it only requires the browser to download one file, while external CSS will require downloading HTML and CSS files separately.
Which CSS has lowest priority
CSS specificity rule
Below are the order of specificity rule which has precedence respectively: 1) Inline style: Inline style has highest priority among all. 2) Id Selector: It has second highest priority. 3) Classes, pseudo-classes and attributes: These selectors has lowest priority.
Inline CSS can impact performance negatively as each HTML file must carry its styling information. This redundancy increases page load times, especially for larger websites. Caching benefits are limited, leading to slower rendering on subsequent visits.Inline CSS is often faster because it skips 1 or more network requests. CSS blocks the rendering of the page.
How do I make CSS higher priority : When multiple classes appear in a single selector, your browser simply adds up how many are listed. The more class selectors you have for a single declaration, the higher the priority. (No matter what, though, it'll pretty much never be enough to overtake the importance of an ID selector!