---
title: "A very !important email"
publication: "Frontend Focus"
issue: 534
published_at: "2022-03-23"
canonical_url: "https://frontendfoc.us/issues/534"
---
Plus is that XHTML you're still writing? |
[](https://frontendfoc.us/)
Frontend Focus
🇺🇦 #534 — March 23, 2022 | [Read on the web](https://frontendfoc.us/issues/534)
[](https://twitter.com/stevenpemberton/status/1505839184287870981)
[CSS Co-Designer: '`!important` Was Added for One Reason Only: Laws in the US'](https://twitter.com/stevenpemberton/status/1505839184287870981) — This tweet got plenty of attention this week — Steven Pemberton shared how `!important` was added to the spec due to US laws “_that require certain text to be in a given font size_”. He adds that anything else is probably _"misuse."_ [Ernie Smith digs into this a little more here](https://midrange.tedium.co/issues/an-important-distinction-1097492).
Steven Pemberton
[Write HTML the HTML Way (and Not the XHTML Way)](https://css-tricks.com/write-html-the-html-way-not-the-xhtml-way/) — Sure, you may not use XHTML (anymore), but when writing HTML you may be more influenced by XHTML than you think. _You are very likely writing HTML, the XHTML way_. Guilty as charged here: we still like our `
`s.. 😁
Jens Oliver Meiert [](https://frontendmasters.com/courses/cypress/?utm_source=frontendfocus&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cypress)
[Testing Your Web Apps with Cypress](https://frontendmasters.com/courses/cypress/?utm_source=frontendfocus&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cypress) — Join Steve Kinney on this detailed course covering Cypress: A fast, easy way to write end-to-end tests for your client-side apps. Learn about the selector engine, test runners, assertion library, and more.
Frontend Masters sponsor
[Prepare for the Future with Google Analytics 4](https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/prepare-for-future-with-google-analytics-4/) — Google Analytics user? Universal Analytics is sunsetting next year and will stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023. Here’s how to prepare _now_ by moving over to Google’s next gen solution, Google Analytics 4. This move is undoubtedly driven by the broad change in data protection laws (e.g. the GDPR) and user expectations of privacy in recent years.
Russell Ketchum (Google)
[Windows High Contrast Mode, Forced Colors Mode and CSS Custom Properties](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2022/03/windows-high-contrast-colors-mode-css-custom-properties/) — CSS Custom Properties can be used for far more than just a bit of fun color theming. Eric explains here how this modern CSS is a powerful piece of assistive tech that can help create flexible, maintainable and adaptive digital experiences.
Eric Bailey
**⚡️ Quick bits:**
- Microsoft's Edge browser now [automatically generates image labels](https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/18/22984474/microsoft-edge-automatic-image-labels-accessibility-feature) for screen readers.
- Firefox 100 is getting [AV1 hardware decoding support](https://www.ghacks.net/2022/03/21/firefox-100-is-getting-av1-hardware-decoding-support-on-windows/) on Windows.
- Here's an update on [how Mozilla and Open Web Docs are working together](https://hacks.mozilla.org/2022/03/mozilla-and-open-web-docs-working-together-on-mdn/) on MDN.
📙 **Tutorials, Articles & Opinion**
[](https://web.dev/building-a-loading-bar-component/)
[Building a Loading Bar Component](https://web.dev/building-a-loading-bar-component/) — Shares a foundational overview of how to go about building a color adaptive and accessible loading bar using the `