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.

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