External CSS is a separate stylesheet file that defines the design and layout of a webpage. It is linked using the <link> tag in the <head> section of an HTML document:
<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”styles.css”>
External CSS is widely used in large projects to maintain consistency and reduce redundancy. It allows easy updates across multiple pages by modifying a single file. Common applications include website themes, responsive design, and structured styling of web components. By keeping design separate from HTML content, it enhances maintainability and improves page loading speed.