🎉 it all begins with a story and mine might just be a tale you can relate to.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! That is the sound I make when I look at my react js code tangled with Tailwind CSS, I picked up Tailwind with the desire to conquer my fear of vanilla CSS, and I came in hot building every project with Tailwind 🚀

I guess it was all good and manageable until recently I had to engineer our admin dashboard(sounds both fun and scary) I took up the challenge to both engineer and do it quickly,

At this point, the codebase resembled a battlefield, and I knew there just might be a knockout blow hiding somewhere in there. yet.

Enter Vanilla CSS—the way we were meant to write styles. It's a powerhouse that grants us full freedom to play, customize, and test our patience to the limit.

My coding journey began using Python Then I proceeded to backend development in Nodejs. Naturally, I hated the styling life especially the world of responsiveness.

I found peace with mobile app development with React Native, where responsiveness was not a constant headache. But, alas, I was not free from styling. the styling approach of react native was not so different from the Web, and I learned that lesson the hard way.

When I decided to hop aboard the web development train, I had already mastered the art of centering a div—a skill worth its weight in gold (or at least, it might land me a job someday, right?). 💼🤣

so let's get to it readers, what comes next is the clash between tailwind CSS and vanilla CSS 🥊🌟

Vanilla CSS (Humility Digitized) 🧊💻

vanilla sounds tasty, doesn't it? But when we talk about "vanilla technology" it's not about ice creams; it's about getting down to the nitty-gritty of web development. 🍨💻

Why call it Vanilla? well, it's not because someone had an allergic reaction to vanilla Ice cream! In the world of Software development going vanilla is like digging deep into the earth with a shovel. It's sweaty, hot and a whole lot of work. but there's a beauty to its rawness and simplicity

"Vanilla CSS" is the pure, untouched form of Cascading Style Sheets, the language that dresses up the bare skeleton of HTML web pages. No frills, no abstractions—just plain, down-to-earth coding. 🎨🧩

we live in a world where complexity is being washed off by abstractions and frameworks, but you can't get rid of the humble guys they have their moments. Vanilla CSS is all about staying grounded and hands-on offering control and flexibility over the ecosystem of web styling, giving developers powers to shape digital creations exactly as it is envisioned 🌐✨

In summary, Vanilla CSS is the raw and traditional way of styling web content. It provides full control and flexibility but requires a strong understanding of CSS principles and careful maintenance to create and manage styles effectively. It's a valuable skill for web developers and designers who want to build custom and highly tailored user interfaces.

Tailwind CSS (The Quick New Guy) 🏃💨

Wow! That's what I said when my colleague told me about the new guy. He was fresh, he was new, and oh boy, were startups adding this guy to the demanded stacks they required for front-end engineers.

left hook, right hook he's hitting fast hope the old guy has the stamina to take a hit, well he's tailwind and he's the new fast guy.

So, what makes Tailwind CSS so special? Why is everyone talking about it? And can it go toe-to-toe with the old guard? Let's dive deeper into this electrifying showdown to see if Tailwind CSS has the stamina and speed to take on the traditional giants. 🚀💥

Tailwind is a quick and powerful newcomer that takes a new approach to styling, Imagine having a toolkit filled with pre-defined, highly efficient CSS classes that you can use right in your HTML. Need some margin? There's a class for that. Want to change the text color? Yep, there's a class for that too. It's like having a menu of styling options at your fingertips, ready to be customized to suit your needs.

Building responsive designs can be a hair-pulling experience with traditional CSS. Media queries, breakpoints, and custom rules can quickly become a tangled mess. Tailwind CSS simplifies responsive design with intuitive classes that adapt your layout for different screen sizes. It's like having a responsive design genie at your service.

While Tailwind CSS offers speed, its extensive use of utility classes is a bit different from the traditional CSS workflow. It's a learning curve, but one that many find well worth the effort.

In summary, Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that streamlines the process of styling web content by offering a set of pre-defined, highly efficient utility classes that can be directly applied in HTML. It emphasizes rapid development, consistency, and modular design, making it a popular choice for front-end developers seeking to enhance their workflow and efficiency in creating responsive and customizable web designs.

Face Off

well, we are here and I'll say this again I'm not here to diss any tool or any tech, I'm here to tell tales

this section is final and the decision is left to you,

Power

Tailwind CSS boasts of being an efficient styling library by making use of utility classes. 🚀 Every styling aspect is covered by a utility class. But not all styling aspects are—fear not! Tailwind allows developers to add customized utility classes. 🎨

CSS boasts of complete control over every aspect of styling. ("Like all these libraries can try, but they'll never be CSS!") And it's not limited by utility classes, allowing full creativity that frontend devs pride themselves in. ("Less fights with designers!") 🎨🧙‍♂️

Responsive Design

This! 🤯 It's the styling challenge that can turn even the bravest developers into mere mortals. But fear not, for we shall see how both sides tackle this formidable foe.

Tailwind CSS steps into the arena and makes responsive layout design look like a stroll compared to Vanilla CSS. 🚶‍♂️ Not to say it's a walk in the park, but it certainly simplifies the process, with the drawback of your code having an extended number of classes. ("Shouldn't be an issue if you don't care about readable codes!" 🤷‍♂️📚)

On the other hand, Vanilla CSS requires more effort, but it's the master tool for fine-tuning responsive layouts. Sometimes, we have devs using Tailwind who take a step back to the "plain vanilla goodie oldie CSS" to achieve surgical precision. ⚙️🔍

Design Style

In the world of fashion, everyone has their unique style, and when it comes to this fight, it's no different. 😄 Everyone brings their fighting style to the ring, and it's a sight to behold

Tailwind steps in with a more modular approach more mechanical 🛠️you see but formal and never off.

Vanilla CSS is the creative and artistic contender, exploring as far as the imagination of the developer goes or perhaps as far as the PM forces it to be.

Experience

Experience is all about how long these contenders have been around and what they've learned along the way.

Tailwind is new but with a fast-growing ecosystem🚀, a vibrant community and a growing number of plugins.

The oldie, no offense pops has been here since the dinosaurs 🦕could tap on keyboards and I believe it will be here in the jetpack age🚀🌟

Final Remarks

In the end, the choice between Tailwind CSS and Vanilla CSS depends on your project's needs and your personal preferences. It's not about picking a winner; it's about embracing the diversity of tools in the world of web development.

So, whether you're a fan of Tailwind's speed or Vanilla's artistry, keep coding, keep creating, and remember that the world of web styling is as diverse and dynamic as the web itself. 🥊🚀🌟