Reducing size and Assembling JavaScript and CSS

Question

Reducing size and Assembling JavaScript and CSS

I find myself in a bit of a dilemma when it comes to using just one JS file and one CSS file for a website. Let me elaborate:

As someone who mainly works with CMS platforms like Joomla, I often run into issues during page speed tests where experts recommend having only one stylesheet and script file per page. To address this, I started utilizing CSS less and minification techniques for JavaScript files.

However, as my website grew, I realized that not every page required the same set of scripts. For example, some pages don't need JSON data while others heavily rely on it. This made me question if including unnecessary code might actually slow down the site. What is the best approach to handle this? Should each page have its own version of scripts with unused portions removed? And how does one manage this effectively within a CMS?

I feel quite lost in this process. Is there no simple guide like "Efficient Website Development for Beginners" to clear up these doubts?

Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

javascript html css concatenation pagespeed

Answer 1

Answer №1

Ensure that the Javascript code you include in your web pages only executes when necessary.

This can be achieved by either calling the specific function from a script tag directly in the HTML:

<script>
    mysystem.doContentPageSetup();
</script>

Alternatively, you can determine the page type within the Javascript itself:

function init() {
    switch ($("body").attr('page-type')) {
        case 'content':
            doContentPageSetup(); break;
        // etc
    }
}

This approach helps prevent unnecessary Ajax requests triggered by the Javascript code.

The rationale behind consolidating all Javascript into one file is to avoid redundant loading (assuming it's cached). Subsequently, executing Javascript on irrelevant pages becomes nearly cost-free both for user experience and server resources.

Moreover, fetching multiple smaller files incurs more overhead compared to fetching a single larger file. Therefore, using a single, minified JS file is often more efficient.

In practice, many websites utilize multiple scripts, such as loading jQuery from a CDN followed by custom code and tracking scripts. This slight delay in loading time is deemed acceptable, especially when someone else shares the hosting costs.

It's important not to blindly adhere to automated tools' suggestions. While they may flag multiple scripts as a concern, the impact of two cached scripts versus one is minimal. The most significant optimization comes from reducing the number of unique scripts loaded on every page, as the bulk of loading time occurs during the initial load.

Answer 2

Ensure that the Javascript code you include in your web pages only executes when necessary.

This can be achieved by either calling the specific function from a script tag directly in the HTML:

<script>
    mysystem.doContentPageSetup();
</script>

Alternatively, you can determine the page type within the Javascript itself:

function init() {
    switch ($("body").attr('page-type')) {
        case 'content':
            doContentPageSetup(); break;
        // etc
    }
}

This approach helps prevent unnecessary Ajax requests triggered by the Javascript code.

The rationale behind consolidating all Javascript into one file is to avoid redundant loading (assuming it's cached). Subsequently, executing Javascript on irrelevant pages becomes nearly cost-free both for user experience and server resources.

Moreover, fetching multiple smaller files incurs more overhead compared to fetching a single larger file. Therefore, using a single, minified JS file is often more efficient.

In practice, many websites utilize multiple scripts, such as loading jQuery from a CDN followed by custom code and tracking scripts. This slight delay in loading time is deemed acceptable, especially when someone else shares the hosting costs.

It's important not to blindly adhere to automated tools' suggestions. While they may flag multiple scripts as a concern, the impact of two cached scripts versus one is minimal. The most significant optimization comes from reducing the number of unique scripts loaded on every page, as the bulk of loading time occurs during the initial load.

Reducing size and Assembling JavaScript and CSS

Answer №1

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