Customize Every Site — Stylish for Chrome Tips & TricksWant complete control over how websites look in Chrome? Stylish lets you apply custom CSS (called “userstyles”) to any site, changing fonts, colors, spacing, layouts, and more. This guide walks through installation, finding and creating styles, managing them safely, practical tips, and troubleshooting so you can confidently customize every site you visit.
What is Stylish?
Stylish is a browser extension that injects user-provided CSS into web pages. Instead of waiting for site owners to add a dark mode or a readable font, you can create or install a userstyle that alters the page’s appearance immediately. Stylish supports domain-specific styles (only apply to example.com), global styles (apply to all sites), and URL-pattern matching.
Installing Stylish for Chrome
- Open the Chrome Web Store and search for “Stylish” (developer: Stylish or a recognized maintainer; verify publisher).
- Click “Add to Chrome” and confirm.
- After installation, pin the extension in your toolbar for quick access.
Tip: Verify the extension’s developer and read recent reviews before installing to avoid clones or unmaintained forks.
Finding Ready-Made Userstyles
- Userstyles.org and similar repositories host thousands of prebuilt themes and tweaks.
- Search by site name (e.g., “YouTube dark theme”) or by keywords like “readability,” “minimal,” or “compact.”
- Preview styles before installing and check the last update date—recent updates mean better compatibility.
Applying and Managing Styles
- Click the Stylish icon on a page to see available styles for that domain.
- Toggle styles on/off quickly, or open the full manager to edit which URLs a style applies to.
- Use the style manager to organize styles, rename them, and set priorities when multiple styles match the same page.
Create Your First Userstyle (Beginner-Friendly)
- Click Stylish → Write new style.
- Enter a name (e.g., “YouTube Darker Player”).
- Set the “Applies to” rule (domain, URL pattern, or global).
- Paste CSS into the editor. Example: make backgrounds dark and text light site-wide:
@-moz-document domain("example.com") { body { background: #0b0b0b !important; color: #e6e6e6 !important; font-family: "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif !important; } a { color: #4ea1ff !important; } } - Save and refresh the target page.
Note: Stylish’s editor supports plain CSS. You can also use browser devtools to inspect elements and test rules before saving them.
Practical Tips & Tricks
- Use !important sparingly to override site CSS; it’s necessary when site rules are specific.
- Target classes/IDs to avoid breaking unrelated parts of a site. Example: .nav, #comments.
- Use CSS variables to make theme tweaks easier:
:root { --bg: #121212; --text: #e9e9e9; } body { background: var(--bg) !important; color: var(--text) !important; } - Create a compact reading mode by hiding sidebars, ads, and footers:
.sidebar, .ads, footer { display: none !important; } article { max-width: 720px; margin: 0 auto !important; } - Combine styles: give specific site rules higher priority than global rules. In the manager, ensure the specific style is enabled and more specific selectors used.
Accessibility & Readability Enhancements
- Increase line-height and font-size for long reads:
article, .post-content { line-height: 1.7 !important; font-size: 18px !important; } -
Improve contrast for low-vision users by adjusting color contrast ratios. Tools like the browser’s Accessibility Inspector can help test contrast.
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Use font-fallback lists to ensure readable fonts across systems.
Performance and Compatibility
- Keep styles minimal; large, complex selectors can slow page rendering.
- Avoid heavy DOM manipulation; CSS-only styles are fastest.
- Test styles on multiple pages of the same site—dynamic, single-page apps (SPAs) may require selectors that handle content injected after load (use more general parent selectors or mutation observers in advanced userscripts instead).
Security & Privacy Considerations
- Only install styles from trusted sources. Malicious styles can’t execute scripts in Stylish, but poorly written CSS can expose or break UI elements, potentially hiding security warnings.
- Stylish previously had privacy controversies; prefer maintained forks or reputable style repositories and check extension permissions.
Advanced: Combining Stylish with Userscripts
For changes that CSS can’t achieve (dynamic behavior, data fetching), combine Stylish with a userscript manager (Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey). Use Stylish for appearance, and userscripts for logic. Keep them separated to simplify maintenance.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Style not applying: check the URL match rule, ensure the style is enabled, and clear site cache.
- Style partially broken: inspect element classes (they may be dynamic/obfuscated). Try broader selectors or wait for updated styles.
- Site layout broken: remove or narrow the problematic rule (often display or position changes).
Example Use Cases
- Dark mode for sites without one.
- Minimal reader view that removes clutter.
- Consistent typography across sites for better legibility.
- Highlighting specific elements (e.g., unread counts, dates).
- Corporate branding for internal tools (fonts, colors).
Maintenance Best Practices
- Keep a short changelog in your style’s description for big edits.
- Periodically review styles after major site redesigns.
- Back up your styles by exporting them or saving them to a synced notes file.
Quick Reference Cheat Sheet
- Applies to: domain(“example.com”), url(”https://example.com/*”), regexp(“https?://(www.)?example.com/.*”)
- Common selectors: body, header, nav, .sidebar, .ad, footer, article, .comment
- Helpful properties: display, background, color, font-family, line-height, max-width, margin, padding, position
Stylish turns the web into a personal canvas. Start small (dark mode or readability tweaks), learn to inspect and target elements, and build a library of site-specific improvements that make browsing faster, cleaner, and more comfortable.
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