HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and is the standard format in which documents like websites are rendered and displayed in web browsers.
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is used for styling websites. By using CSS-File you have a clear separation of document (HTML) and styling (CSS).
HTML/CSS Themes are the most basic website themes and templates you can get. They are not coupled with a content management system or something else. It is just a bunch of HTML and CSS files which are formatting the layout and design of your website.
It is just a bunch of HTML and CSS files
Actually this makes pure HTML/CSS themes extremely flexible as every theme can be adapted to be used with a content management system like Wordpress or any other system, e.g. also for static site generators.
If you want to develop a very simple website which is not overly complex regarding structure, number of pages and user interactivity, it is perfectly fine to just use a HTML/CSS theme and write your content directly into the HTML files. Of course this requires some knowledge about basic web technologies and is not suitable for everyone.
Who uses HTML/CSS Themes - Should You?
Short answer: Well, actually every webpage out there is somehow built with HTML/CSS - so everyone is using it. But of course there might be additional other systems used like a CMS - not only HTML and CSS.
Starting a simple web project and at the same time increasing your knowledge about web technologies such as HTML and CSS - this is the perfect use for HTML/CSS themes.
If you are looking for themes on the web and you find a very special one which you definitely want to use on your website, but you are unsure if it is a good choice because of the theme being only available as HTML/CSS theme - do not worry. It is always possible to start out with a HTML/CSS theme and convert it to be used in Wordpress or another platform. Of course this leads to another step in the development process and could make an impact on the budget side, but in general it is possible. There are no limits regarding HTML/CSS themes.
Pros and Cons for using simple HTML/CSS Themes
Some pros and cons for using simple HTML/CSS Themes listed down below.
Pros
- Easy to access - just a few files
- Complexity is low - no underlying software system
- WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get
- Speed and performance
- Low Cost
- Responsive and mobile friendly
Cons
- Skills required to convert or edit theme and content
- New functionality needs to be coded by yourself
- Limits are reached quickly
