The Reductionist Approach to CSS: Why Less Is Usually More
When developers run into styling issues, the instinctive response is often to add more CSS. A new class here, an !important there, maybe an extra wrapper div “just in case.” On the surface, this seems like progress—you’re actively “fixing” something. But in reality, this approach often makes your code more brittle, harder to maintain, and more difficult for the next person (including future you) to understand.
A better way forward? Do less. Remove more.
The Illusion of Adding
When you add another rule to fix a bug, you’re not solving the problem—you’re masking it. Each new layer of overrides piles up technical debt. The cascade becomes more tangled, selectors grow heavier, and the chances of unexpected side effects increase.
Soon enough, you’ve built a house of cards: touch one rule, and three unrelated components collapse.
Subtraction as Debugging
Instead of asking, “What can I add to fix this?” ask:
- “What can I remove to make this simpler?”
- “What’s the minimal set of rules I need for this to work?”
When troubleshooting CSS, start by peeling things back:
- Disable rules – Comment out styles until the core issue is revealed. Often you’ll find a redundant line that was the true culprit.
- Check inheritance – Many styles don’t need to be redefined; they’re already inherited or set by defaults.
- Lean on the cascade – The “C” in CSS is powerful. If you’re overriding a rule three times, you might not need those first two definitions at all.
The trick is always trying to get to the root issue instead of adding bandaid on top of bandaid.
Example: The Mystery Margin
Imagine a button with extra space above it. The “additive” developer’s solution might be:
Now the margin is gone, but the CSS has grown more fragile. Next time that button shows up in a slightly different context, the !important might break something else.
The reductionist approach instead asks: Why is there margin here at all? Maybe it’s inherited from a global p { margin-top: 1em; }. By removing that global rule or applying it more carefully, you fix the root cause. Now every button benefits without hacks.
Simplicity Scales
Effective code is often the simplest possible code. And simplicity is rarely achieved by piling more on top. Instead, you get there by stripping away the unnecessary until what remains is clear, intentional, and minimal.
This mindset applies beyond CSS. Whether you’re writing JavaScript, PHP, or React components, adding is easy—removing is wise. Start with subtraction. Optimize through reduction.
Closing Thought
The next time you’re tempted to “just add another rule,” pause. Try removing something first. Nine times out of ten, you’ll end up with a cleaner, more maintainable solution.
In CSS—and in code—less is more.