BEMstyle

BEMstyle is a naming and architecture approach for CSS class names designed to improve modularity and maintainability in large web projects. It extends the core ideas of the Block Element Modifier (BEM) methodology by providing a consistent set of rules for component boundaries, naming, and state representation. While not a formal standard, BEMstyle is adopted by teams seeking clearer separation of concerns among components and predictable style inheritance.

In BEMstyle, a block represents a standalone component, an element is a part of that block, and a modifier indicates a variation of a block or element. Class names commonly use the block__element and block--modifier patterns, with modifiers attached to blocks or elements as needed. The emphasis is on explicit relationships between markup and styles, avoiding deep descendant selectors and reducing cross-component coupling. Projects adopting BEMstyle often include a style guide that specifies allowed tokens, wordcase, and the handling of multi-word names.

Usage and tooling: BEMstyle fits well with CSS preprocessors, CSS-in-JS, and component libraries. Teams typically enforce naming through linters or code reviews, and may pair the approach with component-oriented file organization and design tokens to maintain consistency across a product.

Relation to BEM and variants: BEMstyle traces its roots to BEM but is distinguished by its stricter guidance and practical conventions rather than a formal specification. Variants may exist within organizations to accommodate framework constraints or team preferences, while preserving the central emphasis on modular, predictable naming.

See also: BEM, SMACSS, OOCSS.