w3c / w3c/csswg-drafts

[meta] Creating an author-focused entry point summarizing the state of CSS

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css-2026 meta
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Description

As requested by folks on the call, I'm starting a new issue to explore the tangent I started in #4715 (which is about publishing a new Snapshot) — can we make such a thing that is more useful for authors?

Specific aspects of a summary publication that have been brought up:

  • a single-source quick guide to CSS properties (etc.) that's more than an index where you need to click through for any details

  • information about both spec stability and implementation status, again as a quick guide for authors

  • obvious milestones / names to refer to new CSS & get people excited about the features that are now available

This doesn't need to happen in the Snapshot note. It doesn't even need to happen in a traditional W3C Technical Report format. When I mentioned the snapshots on CSS-Tricks as the closest thing the working group has to an overarching “CSS4”, Chris Coyier's response was:

If it were me, I’d hire a content strategist and a designer, and get them going on a microsite or landing page that delivers with crystal clarity what “CSS2019” is. I could get behind that. The snapshot landing page as-is is too dry.

Maybe it would be better to start from something like the working group website's “current work” page, which is also a great resource/overview that isn't well known. Or work with MDN folks to build something on their platform.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with issue #4715 and the existing Snapshot publication, then review the CSS Working Group's “current work” page and the proposed MDN collaboration. Compare the possible author-facing formats and define what a completed overview must provide for CSS properties, specification stability, implementation status, and feature milestones.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
css
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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