"Looks bad on iPad" usually means "looks bad within 768-1024px." There are lot of other tablets out there that belong within that range. (iPad-specific problems do exist and are a bummer)
> The CSS gets ugly fast
Mobile-first keeps things happy if you're writing one big CSS file or even stuff like SCSS. Use as little specificity as is needed, and generally use min-width instead of max- so that your CSS is written "mobile first," in a cascading manner.
Responsive and readable CSS is possible at scale, it just requires some dedication.
> The CSS gets ugly fast
Mobile-first keeps things happy if you're writing one big CSS file or even stuff like SCSS. Use as little specificity as is needed, and generally use min-width instead of max- so that your CSS is written "mobile first," in a cascading manner.
Responsive and readable CSS is possible at scale, it just requires some dedication.