CSS Tip: Avoid applying positioning at element level

Here’s a little CSS tip: Don’t apply positioning rules (including alignment, margins, floats, etc) to a base element, for there will surely come a day when you say, “But I don’t want <label> elements to float left on this page!” Instead, use a rule based on a class or id. You may find that every single instance of said element now has the same class attribute, but it will make life much easier in the long run.

The Bad

label {
position: absolute;
}

The Good:

.label_abs {
position: absolute;
}

* This post was originally published on January 8, 2007 at http://www.csb7.com/blogs/whyblogwhy/2007/01/08/css_tip_avoid_applying_positioning_at_el

If you can eliminate all the other choices, the remaining choice, no matter how improbable, is the answer.

— Sherlock Holmes