How to optimize website performance: Experiences and lessons learned from using the Minify library

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In the process of developing a website, improving page loading has always been one of my top priorities. Once, I tried using the Miniify library to compress and merge CSS and JavaScript files in order to improve the performance of the website. However, I encountered many problems and challenges during use, which eventually made me realize that Miniify may no longer be the best choice. Below I will share my experience and how to install and use Minify through Composer.

Problems encountered

Around 2010, Minify, as a PHP application, was able to help websites follow client performance optimization rules. It can merge multiple CSS or JavaScript files, remove unnecessary blanks and comments, and use gzip encoding and optimal client cache headers to serve these files. In my initial tests, it did effectively reduce HTTP requests and reduce bandwidth usage of JS/CSS by 70%.

However, over time, I found that Minify had difficulties dealing with modern JS and CSS syntax. New syntax and features make Minify unable to process these files correctly, resulting in code being corrupted. In addition, the performance of browsers and HTTP servers has been significantly improved, and Miniify's performance advantages are becoming smaller and smaller.

Install Miniify using Composer

Although Miniify is no longer recommended, I can still show how to install it through Composer for reference:

 <code>composer require mrclay/minify</code>

After installation, you can configure and use it according to the official documentation. Miniify provides a URI Builder application to help you write URLs or configuration file groups suitable for use by Minify. In addition, Miniify supports serving files directly from the file system, which has achieved a significant performance improvement in version 3.

Practical application effect

In my project, Minify does play a role, especially in reducing HTTP requests and optimizing bandwidth usage. However, as the website continues to evolve and technology advance, I find that the maintenance costs and potential code breaking risks of Minify are becoming increasingly high. Especially for high-traffic websites, Minify's PHP CGI overhead can cause file service to slow down.

Summary and suggestions

While Minify used to be a good tool, it is no longer the best choice for optimizing website performance. Modern performance measurement tools such as Lighthouse provide more comprehensive optimization suggestions that can better adapt to the current technology environment.

If you are still interested in Miniify, you can install and try it through Composer, but it is recommended to use it with caution and pay close attention to its compatibility with modern JS and CSS syntax. For high traffic sites, it is recommended to consider other more efficient solutions.

In short, optimizing website performance is an ongoing process that requires us to constantly learn and try new tools and methods. I hope my experience can help you better choose the optimization strategy that suits you.

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