How can I use 3-digit color codes rather than 6-digit color codes in CSS?

Question

I recently went through my CSS file and switched all my six-digit hexadecimal codes to simple three-digit codes (for example, my #FDFEFF got shortened to

Answer 1

Shorthand sucks! Don't use it. It's harder to maintain and creates unnecessary variation e.g. when searching and replacing a colour value ("oh, now I have to take into consideration #FFFFFF and white and #FFF").

What you save in size is never worth what you lose in maintainability. Use minifaction and compression to save bandwidth.