What is the risk of relying on stylesheet order, and how can you enforce consistency across teams?

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In CSS the cascade means that when two rules apply to the same element with the same specificity, the one defined later wins. Relying on file order to control styling is fragile because any change elsewhere—adding a new rule, moving or splitting files, or altering imports—can unintentionally override earlier styles. In team environments, different contributors might reorder files or introduce new rules that shift which styles end up applying, making the final look unpredictable and hard to maintain.

To keep styling consistent across teams, codify how styles are authored and loaded. Establish architecture guidelines that define a predictable file structure and the exact order in which files should be imported (for example, base styles, component styles, then utilities). Use a design system that prescribes this file/order pattern so everyone follows the same workflow. Implement lint rules or a style guide to enforce the order and discourage unsafe cascade patterns, and rely on a shared design system to provide clearly scoped, reusable rules. This approach reduces surprises and makes the outcome stable regardless of who edits the styles.