Are there any performance implications when using an excessive number of background images in CSS?

My website seems to be running too slowly based on user reports. I suspect that the background images in CSS may be causing the issue.

The site uses a custom build system to concatenate and compress all CSS, create CSS sprites automatically, resulting in a 9kb CSS file for the entire page. There are around 60 background images included in this CSS, with some going to the same sprite.

I am curious about how browsers handle downloading these images - whether they download them as needed or all at once when they match a selector.

Currently, Firebug in Firefox indicates that all the images are being downloaded. What techniques would you recommend to avoid or mitigate this issue?

Edit: Upon reevaluation, it appears that the downloaded images are associated with a hidden lightview, while the background-images are linked to the DOM elements.

cssperformancebackground-imagecss-sprites

Answer №1

Avoid placing images in the markup and instead opt for CSS placement.

By loading images via CSS, the page will not be blocked during image calls, allowing for a smoother rendering process. This method also offers more flexibility in design.

Keep in mind that each image loaded this way will consume bandwidth and create additional HTTP requests.

Answer №2

By default, browsers typically download only two items at a time (i.e., 2 HTTP requests). To optimize performance when loading lots of images, consider creating a subdomain specifically for your images, such as images.yoursite.com. This will enable browsers to make parallel requests, leading to potential improvements in overall performance.

Answer №3

(Slightly off topic, but potentially relevant.)

I believe another potential factor to consider is that certain users may always perceive your website as being "too sluggish." Is this more of a psychological issue rather than a technical one? What benchmarks are these users using to define speediness? Are they able to provide specific examples? Additionally, what are their internet speeds and hardware capabilities? Location wise, where are they in comparison to your server? Are there specific features or functions that they find particularly slow? Ultimately, it all comes down to human perceptions.. right?)

Answer №4

It's worth considering a more detailed examination of the images you're sending, especially if there are numerous ones being combined into a single "sprite" image.

The issue might be that the image you're referring to is excessively large. While it should only load once (a perk of using sprites), a file size of several hundred KB could potentially lead to performance issues.

Similar questions

If you have not found the answer to your question or you are interested in this topic, then look at other similar questions below or use the search

What is the determined method for calculating the pixel size of an SVG image?

Did you know that the Stackoverflow logo is actually an <a> element with a SVG image as its background? #hlogo a { text-indent: -999em; display: block; width: 200px; height: 50px; background-image: url("img/sprites.png?v=c4222387 ...

csssvg

Default file is still generated by Sass even when variables are modified

Currently, I am in the process of modifying some variables for my customized version of Bootstrap. At the moment, I have the Bootstrap SCSS files along with my own variables file. This is how my file appears: @import "/path/to/bootstrap"; $blue: #42a5f ...

csstwitter-bootstrapcommand-linesassbootstrap-4

Conceal the div by clicking outside of it

Is there a way to conceal the hidden div with the "hidden" class? I'd like for it to slide out when the user clicks outside of the hidden div. HTML <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.c ...

javascriptjqueryhtmlcss

Layering elements using CSS and HTML to create a background effect

I have created a menu using div elements and I want one of the menu items to have a background that extends behind it to the body. Here is the structure: body { background-image: url(path/body.png); } #menu { overflow: hidden; width: 400px; ba ...

htmlcss

Discover a new method for mastering jQuery Draggable: an advanced technique

Click here for the interactive demo. I'm trying to create a draggable effect for the cover element within the pic-area, but I only want it to be draggable until it completely fills the space without any white gaps. Please have a look at the example b ...

jquerycssjquery-ui-draggable

Looking for assistance with aligning UL elements in CSS using absolute positioning for a dropdown effect

I'm currently working on implementing a language switching feature on this website. The concept involves using a SPAN element that reveals a dropdown box (based on UL) containing a list of available languages when hovered over. Below is a preview of t ...

csslisthtmldrop-down-menupositioning

Scroll bars on JQuery UI dialog

When using the jquery UI Dialog modal, everything appears correctly in Firefox and Chrome. However, in IE8, scroll bars suddenly appear. Is there a way to remove them? ...

htmlcssjquery-uidialog

Is there a way to stack multiple Divs on top of each other using Float instead of relying on absolute positioning?

I've decided to revamp my approach and transition from using absolute positions to utilizing floats for positioning elements the way I desire. Now the challenge lies in figuring out how to float multiple divs on top of each other, allowing users to s ...

htmlcss

How can the entire menu be closed in Bootstrap 5 when clicking on a link or outside of the page?

I'm currently utilizing BootStrap 5 for constructing my webpage. Within my page, I have a NavBar Menu containing various links. <head> <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__ ...

javascripthtmlcssbootstrap-5

Form Field Highlighting

I am currently attempting to eliminate the blue "halo" outline that appears on form elements in Firefox on OS X. I have successfully removed the halo in Safari on OS X using CSS with the following code: input { outline: none; } However, this method doe ...

cssfirefoxmacosforms

If the width is below 767, the previous code will not be effective in jQuery

Challenge: How can I ensure that the code within the if statement only executes when the screen width exceeds 767px, and does not work if it is less than 767px? Using jQuery: $(document).ready(function() { $(window).resize(function() { if ($( ...

javascriptjquerycss

React Hamburger Menu not working as intended

I am facing an issue with my responsive hamburger menu. It is not functioning correctly when clicked on. The menu should display the navigation links and switch icons upon clicking, but it does neither. When I remove the line "{open && NavLink ...

javascriptcssreactjsuse-statehamburger-menu

W3C validation issue: "Failure to immediately follow a start-tag with a null end-tag" and similar errors

Encountering validation errors with the following code: <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <hea ...

cssxhtmlw3c-validation

Issue with ASP.NET ConfirmButtonExtender Missing Background in Internet Explorer

Recently, I noticed an issue with the ConfirmButtonExtender on a Cancel button. It was working perfectly fine in Firefox with a semi-transparent background and a simple modal popup. But when I tested it on IE, it showed a generic JavaScript-style alert box ...

c#htmlcssasp.net-ajax

Open the navigation menu by clicking on either the navigation links or anywhere outside of it

Seeking a solution for my mobile navigation menu that closes when clicking outside the links or on one of them, without using jQuery. How can I achieve this with JavaScript ES6? Current code snippet: const navSlide = () => { const burger = docum ...

javascriptcssmenutogglenavbar

What is the best way to create a CSS grid with horizontal overflow?

I'm currently working on a 4-column layout using CSS grid. As the browser width reaches a specific breakpoint, I want the first column to be fixed on the left side of the browser (X-axis) while the other columns scroll under it. Right now, I am utiliz ...

htmlcsscss-grid

The following divs are adjacent to each other, with their widths set in percentages, and the paddings

I successfully transformed divs into a column of tables. However, now I am looking to add some padding between the divs. When I attempt to do so like this: <div style="float:left; width:100%;"> <?php foreach ($datas as $rec) { ?> <div ...

csshtml

Is there a way to assign "label 3" with the identical percentage as "label 1" on this particular form?

I'm currently using Bootstrap 4 for my project. I want to adjust "label 3" to have the same width as "label 1," while keeping the input width and the rest of the page intact (as shown in the code). Is this possible to achieve? Thank you. https://i ...

cssformstwitter-bootstrapbootstrap-4

If the overflow-x property is set to hidden for the html and body elements, the links in the footer will become unclickable as they will

Situation: Consider the following scenario with a simplified HTML example: position the footer behind the content and make it stick to the bottom when reaching the end of the page, the footer should slide up from behind the content I achieved this layo ...

htmlcssz-indexfootersticky-footer

CSS inline-block element disregarding margins and padding

Recently, I've been delving into the world of CSS and trying out "display:inline-block" as an alternative to "display:float". The general consensus from documentation is that properties commonly used on block elements can also be applied to inline-blo ...

marginpaddingcss