Which of the following describes a good practice in determining the precedence of CSS rules?

Using specificity to solve conflicts is a foundational principle in managing CSS rule precedence effectively. Specificity is a measurement of how specific a CSS rule is based on its selectors. It determines which style will be applied when there are conflicting rules targeting the same element.

When multiple styles could apply to an element, those with higher specificity will take priority. For example, an ID selector is more specific than a class selector, and a class selector is more specific than a tag selector. Therefore, understanding and utilizing specificity allows developers to create styles that consistently apply as intended, resolving conflicts that may arise from various selectors or stylesheets.

Other methods mentioned, such as using inline styles first, might lead to poor practices because inline styles can clutter HTML and are harder to maintain. Linking stylesheets in alphabetical order has no impact on precedence, as the cascading nature of CSS and specificity ultimately dictate which rules are applied. Similarly, avoiding CSS resets ignores beneficial practices that provide consistent browser rendering, which can affect how styles are applied across different web environments.

By focusing on specificity, developers can ensure that their styling choices are deliberate, easier to manage, and more predictable, leading to better-maintained websites.