HTML & CSS Interview Question #129

What is a CSS reset or normalize stylesheet?

Advanced CSS, Accessibility, Performance, Debugging & Senior Scenarios Senior Advanced

Quick Interview Answer

A CSS reset reduces or removes selected browser default styles so projects begin from a more controlled baseline. A normalization stylesheet instead tends to preserve useful defaults while making rendering more consistent across browsers.

Detailed Explanation

A CSS reset reduces or removes selected browser default styles so projects begin from a more controlled baseline. A normalization stylesheet instead tends to preserve useful defaults while making rendering more consistent across browsers.

Modern projects often use a small targeted reset rather than removing every default. The goal is predictable foundations without destroying useful semantics, form behavior, focus indication, or accessibility.

Code Example

*, *::before, *::after {
    box-sizing: border-box;
}

body {
    margin: 0;
}

img, picture, video {
    max-width: 100%;
    display: block;
}

button, input, textarea, select {
    font: inherit;
}