Complete guide to customizing your theme with CSS variables

In this tutorial, I'll walk you through how to customize your site's appearance using CSS custom properties (variables). This is the most maintainable way to adjust colors, fonts, and spacing.

Understanding CSS Variables

CSS variables (also known as custom properties) allow you to define reusable values that can be referenced throughout your stylesheet.

The Theme Variables

Each theme defines its own set of CSS variables in the :root selector. Here are the most commonly used ones:

• --primary-color: Main brand color
• --text-color: Default text color
• --bg-color: Background color
• --border-color: Border color

How to Override

Simply add your own :root block in a custom CSS file and redefine the variables you want to change. The cascade ensures your values take precedence.

That's it! This approach keeps your customizations clean and easy to maintain across theme updates.