In 2025, CSS introduced several groundbreaking features that significantly enhance modern front-end development. These additions make web design more modular, maintainable, and performant—reducing reliance on JavaScript while offering greater control directly within stylesheets.

Over the past year, I’ve incorporated these new tools into production projects and personal work, and the results have been impressive. Below are five CSS techniques that I believe every developer should be exploring today.

1. :has() Selector — Style Based on Child Elements 🔍

The :has() pseudo-class finally brings true parent-based conditional styling to CSS. It allows you to style a parent element based on the presence or state of its children—something previously only possible with JavaScript.

article:has(img) {
  border: 2px solid #007bff;
  padding: 1rem;
}

Use Case: Visually distinguish article cards that contain images without modifying the markup or writing custom JavaScript.

✅ Browser support in 2025 is robust across all major engines, making this a reliable feature for production use.

2. Container Queries — Responsive Components Without Global Media Queries 📦➡️📱

Container queries enable styling elements based on the size of their containing element, not the viewport. This is essential for designing modular, reusable components that behave predictably in any layout.

.card-container {
  container-type: inline-size;
}
@container (min-width: 300px) {
  .card {
    flex-direction: row;
    gap: 1rem;
  }
}

Use Case: Create flexible layouts that adapt based on the parent container’s width—ideal for grids, cards, and responsive UI elements.

3. Subgrid — Precise Layout Inheritance for Nested Elements 🧩

The subgrid value allows nested grid containers to inherit column or row definitions from their parent grid. This ensures consistent alignment without duplicating layout definitions.

.grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr 1fr;
}
.grid-item {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: subgrid;
}

Use Case: Align nested components precisely with the overarching grid—particularly useful in dashboards and complex layouts.

4. Anchor Positioning — Native Popovers and Tooltips 📌

Anchor positioning enables developers to position elements relative to a declarative anchor without JavaScript or external libraries.

.tooltip {
  position: absolute;
  anchor-name: --tooltip;
}
.trigger {
  position-anchor: --tooltip;
  top: anchor(bottom);
  left: anchor(center);
}

Use Case: Display tooltips or popovers accurately relative to trigger elements. This makes for cleaner, more maintainable UI patterns.

📌 Note: As of mid-2025, support is improving quickly, but be sure to check compatibility on Can I Use.

5. content-visibility — Optimize Performance on Scroll-Heavy Pages 🚀

The content-visibility property boosts performance by allowing the browser to skip rendering off-screen content until needed.

.archive-section {
  content-visibility: auto;
  contain-intrinsic-size: 1000px;
}

Use Case: Improve load times and interactivity for long-scroll pages such as blogs, archives, or landing pages.

✅ Combine with contain-intrinsic-size to prevent layout shifts during reveal.

Summary — Key Takeaways for 2025 CSS Development 🧪

• :has() → Parent-based styling without JS
• Container Queries → Component-based responsiveness
• Subgrid → Clean alignment in nested layouts
• Anchor Positioning → Modern tooltips/popovers with no JS
• content-visibility → Faster, leaner pages on initial load

These techniques have transformed my CSS workflow and helped me build more scalable, high-performance web experiences.