How do you speed up your client-side code?

1 Use Minification and Compression

Minification and compression are two techniques that reduce the size of your client-side code files, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Minification removes unnecessary characters, such as whitespace, comments, and formatting, from your code files, while compression applies algorithms to reduce the number of bytes needed to store your code files. Both techniques can reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred from the server to the browser, which can improve the loading time and bandwidth usage of your web application.

2 Use Caching and Service Workers

Caching and service workers are two techniques that enable your web application to store and reuse data locally in the browser, instead of requesting it from the server every time. Caching allows your web application to save frequently used or static data, such as images, fonts, and stylesheets, in the browser's storage, so that they can be loaded faster when needed. Service workers are scripts that run in the background and can intercept and handle network requests, such as fetching data from the server or serving cached data when offline. Both techniques can improve the responsiveness and reliability of your web application.

3 Use Lazy Loading and Code Splitting

Lazy loading and code splitting are two techniques that optimize the loading and execution of your client-side code, by only loading and running the code that is needed for the current view or action. Lazy loading delays the loading of non-critical or non-visible resources, such as images, videos, or scripts, until they are needed or requested by the user, which can improve the initial loading time and reduce the memory usage of your web application. Code splitting divides your code into smaller chunks or modules, and only loads and runs the chunk that is relevant for the current view or action, which can improve the performance and maintainability of your web application.

4 Use Web Workers and WebAssembly

Web workers and WebAssembly are two techniques that enhance the computation and execution of your client-side code, by using parallelism and low-level languages. Web workers are scripts that run in a separate thread from the main thread, and can perform complex or intensive tasks without blocking the user interface or affecting the responsiveness of your web application. WebAssembly is a binary format that can run code written in low-level languages, such as C or Rust, in the browser, and can offer faster and more efficient execution than JavaScript for some tasks. Both techniques can improve the speed and quality of your web application.

5 Use Performance Tools and Best Practices

Performance tools and best practices are two techniques that help you measure and improve the performance of your client-side code, by using analytics and optimization strategies. Performance tools are software or services that can monitor and analyze the performance of your web application, such as loading time, rendering time, network requests, memory usage, and user interactions. They can help you identify and diagnose performance issues, and provide suggestions and solutions to fix them. Performance best practices are guidelines and standards that can help you write and structure your code in a way that enhances the performance of your web application, such as using semantic HTML, modular CSS, and functional JavaScript. Both techniques can help you optimize your client-side code and deliver a better web application.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?