CSS Styling Approaches Reference

Comparison Matrix

Approach	Runtime	Bundle Size	Learning Curve	Dynamic Styles	SSR
CSS Modules	None	Minimal	Low	Limited	Yes
Tailwind	None	Small (purged)	Medium	Via classes	Yes
styled-components	Yes	Medium	Medium	Full	Yes*
Emotion	Yes	Medium	Medium	Full	Yes
Vanilla Extract	None	Minimal	High	Limited	Yes

CSS Modules

Scoped CSS with zero runtime overhead.

Setup

// Button.module.css
.button {
  padding: 0.5rem 1rem;
  border-radius: 0.375rem;
  font-weight: 500;
  transition: background-color 0.2s;
}

.primary {
  background-color: #2563eb;
  color: white;
}

.primary:hover {
  background-color: #1d4ed8;
}

.secondary {
  background-color: #f3f4f6;
  color: #1f2937;
}

.secondary:hover {
  background-color: #e5e7eb;
}

.small {
  padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem;
  font-size: 0.875rem;
}

.large {
  padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;
  font-size: 1.125rem;
}

// Button.tsx
import styles from "./Button.module.css";
import { clsx } from "clsx";

interface ButtonProps {
  variant?: "primary" | "secondary";
  size?: "small" | "medium" | "large";
  children: React.ReactNode;
  onClick?: () => void;
}

export function Button({
  variant = "primary",
  size = "medium",
  children,
  onClick,
}: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <button
      className={clsx(
        styles.button,
        styles[variant],
        size !== "medium" && styles[size],
      )}
      onClick={onClick}
    >
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

Composition

/* base.module.css */
.visuallyHidden {
  position: absolute;
  width: 1px;
  height: 1px;
  padding: 0;
  margin: -1px;
  overflow: hidden;
  clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);
  border: 0;
}

/* Button.module.css */
.srOnly {
  composes: visuallyHidden from "./base.module.css";
}

Tailwind CSS

Utility-first CSS with design system constraints.

Class Variance Authority (CVA)

import { cva, type VariantProps } from "class-variance-authority";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

const buttonVariants = cva(
  // Base styles
  "inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-md text-sm font-medium ring-offset-background transition-colors focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-ring focus-visible:ring-offset-2 disabled:pointer-events-none disabled:opacity-50",
  {
    variants: {
      variant: {
        default: "bg-primary text-primary-foreground hover:bg-primary/90",
        destructive:
          "bg-destructive text-destructive-foreground hover:bg-destructive/90",
        outline:
          "border border-input bg-background hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground",
        secondary:
          "bg-secondary text-secondary-foreground hover:bg-secondary/80",
        ghost: "hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground",
        link: "text-primary underline-offset-4 hover:underline",
      },
      size: {
        default: "h-10 px-4 py-2",
        sm: "h-9 rounded-md px-3",
        lg: "h-11 rounded-md px-8",
        icon: "h-10 w-10",
      },
    },
    defaultVariants: {
      variant: "default",
      size: "default",
    },
  },
);

interface ButtonProps
  extends
    React.ButtonHTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement>,
    VariantProps<typeof buttonVariants> {
  asChild?: boolean;
}

const Button = React.forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, ButtonProps>(
  ({ className, variant, size, ...props }, ref) => {
    return (
      <button
        className={cn(buttonVariants({ variant, size, className }))}
        ref={ref}
        {...props}
      />
    );
  },
);

Tailwind Merge Utility

// lib/utils.ts
import { type ClassValue, clsx } from "clsx";
import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge";

export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
  return twMerge(clsx(inputs));
}

// Usage - handles conflicting classes
cn("px-4 py-2", "px-6"); // => 'py-2 px-6'
cn("text-red-500", condition && "text-blue-500"); // => 'text-blue-500' if condition

Custom Plugin

// tailwind.config.js
const plugin = require("tailwindcss/plugin");

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    plugin(function ({ addUtilities, addComponents, theme }) {
      // Add utilities
      addUtilities({
        ".text-balance": {
          "text-wrap": "balance",
        },
        ".scrollbar-hide": {
          "-ms-overflow-style": "none",
          "scrollbar-width": "none",
          "&::-webkit-scrollbar": {
            display: "none",
          },
        },
      });

      // Add components
      addComponents({
        ".card": {
          backgroundColor: theme("colors.white"),
          borderRadius: theme("borderRadius.lg"),
          padding: theme("spacing.6"),
          boxShadow: theme("boxShadow.md"),
        },
      });
    }),
  ],
};

styled-components

CSS-in-JS with template literals.

import styled, { css, keyframes } from "styled-components";

// Keyframes
const fadeIn = keyframes`
  from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(-10px); }
  to { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
`;

// Base button with variants
interface ButtonProps {
  $variant?: "primary" | "secondary" | "ghost";
  $size?: "sm" | "md" | "lg";
  $isLoading?: boolean;
}

const sizeStyles = {
  sm: css`
    padding: 0.25rem 0.75rem;
    font-size: 0.875rem;
  `,
  md: css`
    padding: 0.5rem 1rem;
    font-size: 1rem;
  `,
  lg: css`
    padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;
    font-size: 1.125rem;
  `,
};

const variantStyles = {
  primary: css`
    background-color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.primary};
    color: white;
    &:hover:not(:disabled) {
      background-color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.primaryHover};
    }
  `,
  secondary: css`
    background-color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.secondary};
    color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.text};
    &:hover:not(:disabled) {
      background-color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.secondaryHover};
    }
  `,
  ghost: css`
    background-color: transparent;
    color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.text};
    &:hover:not(:disabled) {
      background-color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.ghost};
    }
  `,
};

const Button = styled.button<ButtonProps>`
  display: inline-flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  border: none;
  border-radius: 0.375rem;
  font-weight: 500;
  cursor: pointer;
  transition: all 0.2s ease;
  animation: ${fadeIn} 0.3s ease;

  ${({ $size = "md" }) => sizeStyles[$size]}
  ${({ $variant = "primary" }) => variantStyles[$variant]}

  &:disabled {
    opacity: 0.5;
    cursor: not-allowed;
  }

  ${({ $isLoading }) =>
    $isLoading &&
    css`
      pointer-events: none;
      opacity: 0.7;
    `}
`;

// Extending components
const IconButton = styled(Button)`
  padding: 0.5rem;
  aspect-ratio: 1;
`;

// Theme provider
const theme = {
  colors: {
    primary: "#2563eb",
    primaryHover: "#1d4ed8",
    secondary: "#f3f4f6",
    secondaryHover: "#e5e7eb",
    ghost: "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05)",
    text: "#1f2937",
  },
};

// Usage
<ThemeProvider theme={theme}>
  <Button $variant="primary" $size="lg">
    Click me
  </Button>
</ThemeProvider>;

Emotion

Flexible CSS-in-JS with object and template syntax.

/** @jsxImportSource @emotion/react */
import { css, Theme, ThemeProvider, useTheme } from "@emotion/react";
import styled from "@emotion/styled";

// Theme typing
declare module "@emotion/react" {
  export interface Theme {
    colors: {
      primary: string;
      background: string;
      text: string;
    };
    spacing: (factor: number) => string;
  }
}

const theme: Theme = {
  colors: {
    primary: "#2563eb",
    background: "#ffffff",
    text: "#1f2937",
  },
  spacing: (factor: number) => `${factor * 0.25}rem`,
};

// Object syntax
const cardStyles = (theme: Theme) =>
  css({
    backgroundColor: theme.colors.background,
    padding: theme.spacing(4),
    borderRadius: "0.5rem",
    boxShadow: "0 1px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)",
  });

// Template literal syntax
const buttonStyles = css`
  padding: 0.5rem 1rem;
  border-radius: 0.375rem;
  font-weight: 500;

  &:hover {
    opacity: 0.9;
  }
`;

// Styled component with theme
const Card = styled.div`
  background-color: ${({ theme }) => theme.colors.background};
  padding: ${({ theme }) => theme.spacing(4)};
  border-radius: 0.5rem;
`;

// Component with css prop
function Alert({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const theme = useTheme();

  return (
    <div
      css={css`
        padding: ${theme.spacing(3)};
        background-color: ${theme.colors.primary}10;
        border-left: 4px solid ${theme.colors.primary};
      `}
    >
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage
<ThemeProvider theme={theme}>
  <Card>
    <Alert>Important message</Alert>
  </Card>
</ThemeProvider>;

Vanilla Extract

Zero-runtime CSS-in-JS with full type safety.

// styles.css.ts
import { style, styleVariants, createTheme } from "@vanilla-extract/css";
import { recipe, type RecipeVariants } from "@vanilla-extract/recipes";

// Theme contract
export const [themeClass, vars] = createTheme({
  color: {
    primary: "#2563eb",
    secondary: "#64748b",
    background: "#ffffff",
    text: "#1f2937",
  },
  space: {
    small: "0.5rem",
    medium: "1rem",
    large: "1.5rem",
  },
  radius: {
    small: "0.25rem",
    medium: "0.375rem",
    large: "0.5rem",
  },
});

// Simple style
export const container = style({
  padding: vars.space.medium,
  backgroundColor: vars.color.background,
});

// Style variants
export const text = styleVariants({
  primary: { color: vars.color.text },
  secondary: { color: vars.color.secondary },
  accent: { color: vars.color.primary },
});

// Recipe (like CVA)
export const button = recipe({
  base: {
    display: "inline-flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    justifyContent: "center",
    fontWeight: 500,
    borderRadius: vars.radius.medium,
    transition: "background-color 0.2s",
    cursor: "pointer",
    border: "none",
    ":disabled": {
      opacity: 0.5,
      cursor: "not-allowed",
    },
  },
  variants: {
    variant: {
      primary: {
        backgroundColor: vars.color.primary,
        color: "white",
        ":hover": {
          backgroundColor: "#1d4ed8",
        },
      },
      secondary: {
        backgroundColor: "#f3f4f6",
        color: vars.color.text,
        ":hover": {
          backgroundColor: "#e5e7eb",
        },
      },
    },
    size: {
      small: {
        padding: "0.25rem 0.75rem",
        fontSize: "0.875rem",
      },
      medium: {
        padding: "0.5rem 1rem",
        fontSize: "1rem",
      },
      large: {
        padding: "0.75rem 1.5rem",
        fontSize: "1.125rem",
      },
    },
  },
  defaultVariants: {
    variant: "primary",
    size: "medium",
  },
});

export type ButtonVariants = RecipeVariants<typeof button>;

// Button.tsx
import { button, type ButtonVariants, themeClass } from "./styles.css";

interface ButtonProps extends ButtonVariants {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  onClick?: () => void;
}

export function Button({ variant, size, children, onClick }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <button className={button({ variant, size })} onClick={onClick}>
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

// App.tsx - wrap with theme
function App() {
  return (
    <div className={themeClass}>
      <Button variant="primary" size="large">
        Click me
      </Button>
    </div>
  );
}

Performance Considerations

Critical CSS Extraction

// Next.js with styled-components
// pages/_document.tsx
import Document, { DocumentContext } from "next/document";
import { ServerStyleSheet } from "styled-components";

export default class MyDocument extends Document {
  static async getInitialProps(ctx: DocumentContext) {
    const sheet = new ServerStyleSheet();
    const originalRenderPage = ctx.renderPage;

    try {
      ctx.renderPage = () =>
        originalRenderPage({
          enhanceApp: (App) => (props) =>
            sheet.collectStyles(<App {...props} />),
        });

      const initialProps = await Document.getInitialProps(ctx);
      return {
        ...initialProps,
        styles: [initialProps.styles, sheet.getStyleElement()],
      };
    } finally {
      sheet.seal();
    }
  }
}

Code Splitting Styles

// Dynamically import heavy styled components
import dynamic from "next/dynamic";

const HeavyChart = dynamic(() => import("./HeavyChart"), {
  loading: () => <Skeleton height={400} />,
  ssr: false,
});

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