Performance · Website glossary

Minification

Quick answer · What is Minification?

The removal of unnecessary characters or other safe simplifications from source assets to reduce their size.

IN PRACTICE

Minification: an example

A build process removes comments and extra whitespace from a production stylesheet.

KEEP IN MIND

Minification does not remove the need for the code to run; unused features can still create processing work.

Put the idea to work

Frequently asked questions

What is a practical example of Minification?

A build process removes comments and extra whitespace from a production stylesheet.

Does minification remove the processing cost of unused features?

Minification does not remove the need for the code to run; unused features can still create processing work.

Which concepts should I read alongside Minification?

Compression: The reduction of data size using an encoding that a recipient can decode.
JavaScript: A programming language widely used to add behavior to web pages and run application logic in other environments.