Removing Module Provided CSS Files

In this article, let’s explore the art of removing, once and for all — with a few little magic tricks — the clutter of CSS classes and irritating CSS that you never need.

As a frontend developer, working in Drupal can be a bit of a hassle. One of the things that always shocks a new themer is where all those damn CSS files are coming from and what they’re supposed to do. Even more important: how to remove those that aren't needed.

The way Drupal works is that every module and its grandma brings along its own CSS file, which is intended to make everything work “right out of the box.”

That’s all fine and dandy, but let’s be honest here: we don't want to schlep any CSS around unless it's absolutely necessary for the site. Extra CSS is sloppy, makes the site slower and, let's not forget, you will end up spending days to overwrite CSS that was provided as a default. (Thanks but no thanks, Drupal.)

Morten DK

Morten runs a Drupal shop called geek Röyale, on a corner of Copenhagen's red light district. Besides having an ego the size of your cache tables, he is a "front-end developer" who has been in love with Drupal since 4.7. Morten despises the huge amount of mark-up and CSS that Drupal spits out, and continues to fight to improve the situation.