At what point does the browser begin fetching the background images specified in a stylesheet?

Are images mentioned in a valid CSS declaration with a background-image value downloaded when the stylesheet is parsed or when the declaration is applied on a page?

In simpler terms, do I need to download all background images listed in my stylesheet even if they aren't ultimately used?

Is there any specification that addresses this scenario (and if so, is it adhered to) or is it up to the User-Agent?

Answer №1

Once you specify the background-image in your CSS file, the browser will fetch the image directly while parsing the stylesheet, regardless of how you reference that class in the document.

Answer №2

Modern web browsers continue to advance in intelligence. They now have the capability to detect screen size and refrain from downloading images for mediaqueries that are not applicable: mediaqueries and images download

I recently discovered that if you declare

#example{ background-image: "whatever.jpeg"}
but the element #example is not found in the DOM, the browser will not fetch that image. This information can be found here: Are unused CSS images downloaded?

It's important to be cautious when using display:none; as hidden elements' background images on your responsive website may still be downloaded.

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

Tips for designating all content within a <div> element to open in a blank target (target="_blank")

I am looking to open all content within a specific <div> in a new tab (target="_blank"). I am open to any solution, whether it involves JS, CSS, HTML, classes, IDs, etc. I experimented with using <base target="_blank">, but it affect ...

Make an element in jQuery draggable but always within the viewport

My issue is that when I resize the window, the element stays in its position until I start dragging it. Once I drag it and then resize the window again, it doesn't stay within its container. To better illustrate my problem, you can view a demo on Fid ...

Is there a way to have an image expand to fit the entire screen before scrolling to view another image?

I'm working on a website and I want to have an image that automatically adjusts to fit any screen size. Users should be able to scroll down to see more content or another image. A similar effect can be seen on this site: . Any suggestions would be rea ...

Styling tricks for rotating carousel images using CSS animations

I'm currently working on a carousel component that functions without the use of JavaScript. While I have made significant progress towards my goal, I am facing challenges with the animation itself. The desired behavior is for the slides to animate o ...

Tips for transferring the ID from one element to another using JavaScript

I'm attempting to create a slideshow using icons all within one class. The "active" style class will have an ID and represent the current picture. By clicking either the left or right button, I aim to change the style of the active class. const l ...

Run various CSS animations repeatedly

I recently created a captivating text fade-in, fade-out animation consisting of four lines. Each line elegantly appears one after the other, creating a mesmerizing effect. However, there's now a request to have these animations run in an infinite loop ...

block height has become a constant challenge for me - despite my various attempts, I still cannot seem

Struggling with adjusting the height of my posts. Any help would be appreciated! For more details, please visit: <li> <div class="thumb-img"> <a title="Hiring a Professional Designer for Your Kitchen" href="http://www.mulberrydesignerkitc ...

Adjusting the view to focus solely on the visible portion of the webpage

Is there a way to achieve zooming in and out on a website similar to how it works on the site ? I want only the visible area to zoom in or out when users interact with their browser. I searched online for a solution but couldn't find one. Any suggesti ...

A guide to accessing and managing events for the child inside a div element using extjs4

How can I dynamically switch between the divs with classes "icon-right" and "icon-left" when clicked? Here is an example of the HTML and ExtJS code involved: Html code: <div class="msg"> <div> <div cla ...

Place text within SVG in alignment

There seems to be an issue with aligning text in Adobe Illustrator when exporting graphics to SVG. When the text is initially exported, it is aligned to the center, but if you change the text using JavaScript from "Default text" to "New text", the alignmen ...

Designing a menu header against a specific background color resulting in misalignment

I have been working on creating a menu header for my website. If you would like to take a look, here is the link to my jsfiddle page. Unfortunately, I am facing an issue where all my images and text should remain in that grey color scheme but somehow it& ...

Browser prioritizes Bootstrap over custom CSS styles

I've organized my stylesheet directory like this: stylesheets bootstrap.min.css style.css Within my style.css file, I've made adjustments to the pre tag styling: pre { background-color: #d9edf7; border: #d9edf7; color: navy ...

Cursor customized image vanishes upon clicking anywhere on the page on a MAC in various web browsers

I am currently trying to set a custom image as the cursor using jQuery in this manner $(document).ready(function(){ $("body").css('cursor','url(http://affordable-glass.com/test/penguinSm.png),auto'); }); While this method works, ...

Role-based dynamic layout

I am currently working on a website that requires user login functionality. To achieve this, I am utilizing materialise-css and Angularjs for the front-end development, while the back-end is powered by Java-Hibernate (as Spring is not an option in my case) ...

The benefits of utilizing "native tags" instead of foreignObject in an SVG

As the creator of the stackoverflow-readme-profile project, I dedicated extensive time and effort to crafting a personalized Stackoverflow profile in the form of an SVG image. Utilizing "native svg tags," I meticulously constructed elements such as: < ...

Gliding over the problem with the Azure line

https://i.sstatic.net/7N3hO.jpg Is there a way to hide the opacity and font on hover? I have tried using outline: 0; in my CSS but there is still a blue line lingering. Any ideas on how to remove it? If you need to see the code and the issue I'm des ...

Design a food selection with only CSS and HTML

I am working with a menu structure that looks like this: <ul class"menu"> <li> <a>item1</a> <ul> <li><a>subitem1</a></li> <li><a>subitem2</a></li> &l ...

Incorporating Angular module into the mean.io bundle

Need help with adding the angular-ui-grid module to a mean.io package: $ cd packages/custom/mypackage $ npm install angular-ui-grid --save To import the JS, add this line to packages/custom/mypackage/public/index.js: import 'angular-ui-grid'; ...

What is the best way to implement the concept of setting a minimum size for a scrollable element based on its content and a

In the interest of simplicity, let's assume that my fixed height is 100px. So, the CSS expression for the question in the title would be: height: min(min-content, 100px); This means to take the minimum value between content height and 100px. Unfortun ...

Styling with CSS based on the remaining width of the viewport relative to the height

If you're viewing this on a tablet browser, the dimensions are set relative to the viewport width and height. Let's assume a landscape orientation for simplicity. Inside a fullscreen container, there are two divs positioned absolutely, just like ...