Do external stylesheets get loaded before the HTML?

Question

If I have external stylesheets being included in the section of my HTML page, will they be loaded before the HTML and immediately appl

Answer 1

I believe the simplest answer to your question is: "Yes...the stylesheets get loaded first." That's why you link to them in the head. As ghostcake suggested above, you can do funky stuff to adjust the order in which the browser responds to and renders any instructions in your html file, but the default function of the browser is to essentially attempt to address each line of markup in the order it is presented. Hence, that's also why it's best to put tracking scripts, etc., at the bottom of the page...below the footer, but above the body tag. (Doing so let's your page render before dealing with functions otherwise not visible to the user.) If you think of the browser like an artist or draftsman you commission to draw something, you must tell the artist how/what to draw before they put pen to paper. Likewise, telling the browser where to fetch your instructions re. styling via a link in the head allows it to "know" what and how to "draw" before it begins to "draw".