Welcome to The Coding College—your trusted guide to mastering web development! Today’s tutorial focuses on Web Building with W3.CSS, a lightweight, responsive CSS framework that makes it easier to create beautiful and functional websites.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, W3.CSS simplifies the web-building process by offering pre-designed components, responsiveness, and clean design. Let’s explore how you can build a professional website step by step with W3.CSS.
What is W3.CSS?
W3.CSS is a modern, minimalistic CSS framework developed by W3Schools. It provides ready-to-use styles for layouts, navigation, buttons, colors, and more. Unlike Bootstrap, W3.CSS is small in size and doesn’t require JavaScript, making it fast and easy to use.
Key Features of W3.CSS:
- Responsive Design: Websites adjust seamlessly to all screen sizes (mobile, tablet, desktop).
- Lightweight: Small file size and no dependencies.
- Easy to Use: Simple classes for styling components.
- Customizable: Overwrite default styles to suit your design.
- Browser Support: Works on all modern browsers.
Setting Up W3.CSS
To get started, include the W3.CSS stylesheet in your HTML file.
Step 1: Include W3.CSS
Add the W3.CSS link inside your <head>
section:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://thecodingcollege.com/w3css/4/w3.css">
Building a Simple Web Page with W3.CSS
Let’s build a basic, responsive website step by step using W3.CSS.
1. Web Page Structure
The structure of the web page includes:
- Header
- Navigation Bar
- Main Content
- Footer
2. Full Example Code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Web Building with W3.CSS</title>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://thecodingcollege.com/w3css/4/w3.css">
<style>
.custom-header { background-color: #4CAF50; color: white; } /* Green */
.custom-footer { background-color: #333; color: white; } /* Dark */
</style>
</head>
<body>
<!-- Header -->
<header class="w3-container custom-header w3-padding w3-center">
<h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
<p>Powered by W3.CSS Framework</p>
</header>
<!-- Navigation Bar -->
<nav class="w3-bar w3-light-grey">
<a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hover-green">Home</a>
<a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hover-green">About</a>
<a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hover-green">Services</a>
<a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hover-green">Contact</a>
</nav>
<!-- Main Content -->
<main class="w3-container w3-padding">
<div class="w3-row">
<!-- Left Column -->
<div class="w3-col l8 m6 s12 w3-padding">
<h2>About Us</h2>
<p>We build modern, responsive websites using W3.CSS. This lightweight framework makes it simple to create stunning layouts and professional designs without complex coding.</p>
<button class="w3-button w3-green w3-hover-light-green">Learn More</button>
</div>
<!-- Right Column -->
<div class="w3-col l4 m6 s12 w3-padding">
<h3>Our Services</h3>
<ul class="w3-ul w3-border">
<li>Web Development</li>
<li>Responsive Design</li>
<li>UI/UX Solutions</li>
<li>Custom Styling</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</main>
<!-- Footer -->
<footer class="w3-container custom-footer w3-center w3-padding">
<p>© 2025 The Coding College | Built with W3.CSS</p>
</footer>
</body>
</html>
Code Breakdown
- Header:
- Uses
w3-container
for padding andcustom-header
for background color. - Text is centered using
w3-center
.
- Uses
- Navigation Bar:
- Created with
w3-bar
andw3-bar-item
. w3-hover-green
adds hover effects for a better user experience.
- Created with
- Main Content:
- Divided into two responsive columns using
w3-row
andw3-col
. - Buttons and lists use W3.CSS classes like
w3-button
,w3-hover-light-green
, andw3-ul
.
- Divided into two responsive columns using
- Footer:
- Styled with
custom-footer
for background color andw3-center
to center the text.
- Styled with
Making Your Web Page Responsive
W3.CSS makes responsiveness easy by using built-in classes:
w3-col
divides the layout into columns.- Use sizes like
l
(large screens),m
(medium screens), ands
(small screens).
Example Responsive Columns:
<div class="w3-row">
<div class="w3-col l6 m4 s12 w3-green">Column 1</div>
<div class="w3-col l6 m8 s12 w3-blue">Column 2</div>
</div>
Enhancing Your Website with W3.CSS Components
You can add additional W3.CSS components to your website for better design:
- Buttons: Use
w3-button
and hover classes. - Cards: Organize content with
w3-card
for a clean, box-style layout. - Sliders: Add slideshows with
w3-display-container
. - Modals: Use modals for pop-ups.
- Accordions: Create collapsible sections for FAQs.
Benefits of Using W3.CSS for Web Building
- Lightweight: Faster loading time for websites.
- No JavaScript: Purely CSS-based framework.
- Mobile-First: Fully responsive without extra effort.
- Customizable: Easy to override default styles with your own CSS.
- Browser Compatible: Works on all modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).
Conclusion
Building a responsive, professional website is simple and quick with W3.CSS. By combining ready-to-use classes, responsive design tools, and clean styles, you can create stunning websites without writing complex code.
For more web-building tutorials and coding resources, visit The Coding College—your partner in becoming a web development expert!