How to submit your startup website to CSS Light
TL;DR
CSS Light is a CSS gallery and website directory that names a Featured of the Day site every day. In October 2026 the free submission is closed, so listing costs $20 (Premium, approved within 24 hours) or $120 (Sponsored, 15 days at the top of the gallery plus an email to 17,000 subscribers). It suits startups with a well-designed website and studios that want their work in front of designers.
What is CSS Light?
CSS Light is a web design gallery with a directory, categories, member profiles and a daily featured pick. Designers browse it for ideas, and agencies, freelancers and companies submit their own sites to be seen.
The gallery is active: it featured a new site every day in late October 2026, with Misis Portfolio as Featured of the Day on 30 October 2026. Each listing gets its own page with a screenshot and a link to the website. In our October 2026 check that link was a plain link without a nofollow tag.
The domain authority of 41 belongs to csslight.com. Count on design-minded visitors and a directory backlink, and expect modest traffic from a single listing.
Who should submit to CSS Light?
- Startups that just launched a redesigned homepage or landing page and want it seen by designers.
- Design agencies, studios and freelancers who sell web design and need portfolio proof.
- Founders who want a cheap directory listing with a quick approval.
- Skip it if your site uses a stock template with no custom design: galleries pick visual quality.
- Skip it if you need paying customers from the listing: the audience is designers.
How much does CSS Light cost?
From the submission page, checked in October 2026, with payment by PayPal:
- Free submission: closed. The page says it "will open soon" and gives no date.
- Premium Submission + Directory: $20. A directory listing plus posts on CSS Light's X (Twitter), Facebook and Pinterest accounts, approved within 24 hours.
- Sponsored Submission + Directory: $120. Everything in Premium, plus 15 days in the first position of the gallery and an email to 17,000 subscribers.
How do you share your startup on CSS Light?
- Look through the CSS Light gallery and check that your site matches the design level of recent picks.
- Open the submit page and choose Premium ($20) or Sponsored ($120).
- Log in or register a CSS Light account when the site asks, add your website details and pay through PayPal.
- Wait for approval, which the page promises within 24 hours for Premium, then share your listing page on your own channels.
Tips to get more out of CSS Light
- Submit after a visual redesign and polish the top of your homepage first, since the listing page leads with one large image of the site.
- Write a description that names your product and what the design does well, e.g. "Dark, type-led landing page for a budgeting app".
- Pick the $120 Sponsored option only if designers are your customers: the email to 17,000 subscribers is the part worth paying for.
- Add the listing to your press or awards page once it is live.
Our verdict
CSS Light is alive and adds sites every day, but the free door is closed for now. At $20 it is a cheap, fast directory listing for a startup with a strong website. The $120 sponsored slot makes sense only for products that sell to designers.
More options: see all design galleries and portfolio sites. Planning the launch around this listing? The Fe/male Switch startup game walks women founders from idea to first customers.