Performance is the most vital aspect when considering developing a web page or web application. No one wants to visit and stay on a sluggish website these days. As per the latest findings, a 2-sec delay results in an 87% abandonment rate, and a 1 to 5 sec page load time has a probability of a 90% bounce rate.

Thus, when starting a new web application development project, these performance numbers should be taken into account. One of the most used technologies for a web development project is JavaScript. It is an amazing frontend development tool that helps create interactive and feature-rich websites.

Here, I am presenting some best tips that will help you improve the performance of your JavaScript-based web app. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Best Tips to Improve the Performance of Your JavaScript-Based Web App?

1. Choosing the Right JavaScript-Based Framework

Choosing the right javascript-based framework is a great first step to getting high performance from the start. When it comes to the JS frameworks, we have a vast amount of choices. The first and obvious one is Angular supported by Google. Then there is React from Facebook and VueJS etc.

We have already compared Angular with React and Angular with VueJS and concluded why Angular is best for enterprise app development. However, React and VueJS are both great frameworks and offer great performance even more so than Angular in some aspects. But overall, Angular is a winner in many other aspects too.

2. Implementing Cache in Browser

Cache implementation can be achieved in two different ways. The first is by installing a service worker to use the JavaScript Cache API. Another way to achieve cache implementation is by using the HTTP protocol.

Since browsers often use the script to access specific files and objects, performance improvement can immediately be achieved by storing repeated access objects inside user-defined variables. A variable can also be subsequently referenced to those objects.

3. Removing Unused JavaScript Files

Removing unused JS files will reduce the file transmission time along with the time taken by the browser to analyze and compile the code. Here are a few other things you can do to enhance the performance of your JavaScript-based Web apps:

• Remove the functionality and the JS code files associated with it if you detect that they are not being used by your users.
• Audit and check if the JS library is added by mistake or what.
• See if it is unnecessary or the dependencies you already have offered the functionality natively without needing the JS files.

Following such steps will help you boost the performance of your web applications.

4. Defer the Load of Unnecessary JS code

What users want is the initial page load to be quick and, likely, all the functions are not required immediately after the initial load. It can be possible to defer the loading of certain functions until after the initial page load if the user must need to take a certain action for that function to be executed.

Doing so will avoid the loading and compiling of the unnecessary JS code that would delay the initial page load. Once the page is fully loaded, these functionalities can start loading and are made available to users immediately after they start interacting. Google has recommended that this deferred load should be done in the blocks of 50ms to not influence the user’s interaction with the page.

5. Optimizing and Minifying JS Code

JavaScript code optimization and minification is a process to make the code smaller in size. The JS code minification shrinks the file size to decrease the page load time of the JS-based web apps. Additional line breaks, spaces, comments, and other things increase the size of the JS code file and affect the performance.

Even if the JavaScript fits into one string, browsers can read and launch the minified code. Optimization is also a special kind of JS minification, where the unuseful white spaces, commas, comments, etc. are deleted along with avoiding dead code.

6. Using the HTTP/2 Protocol

HTTP/2 is a second encrypted version of the main internet protocol that provides you with many cool features. It offers asynchronous download of external files that are most notably the JS files.

HTTP/2 is better than HTTP in many aspects. The HTTP encrypted version may require deep learning and advanced knowledge of JavaScript. While the HTTP/2 version doesn’t need such things and can make the JavaScript web apps load faster.

7. Use Gzip Compression

Gzip is a compression and decompression software used by most clients and servers. In a Gzip compatible browser when making a request for code files or resources, the server then compresses the response before sending it to the browser.

The big JavaScript files are compressed by Gzip compression to save the bandwidth and eventually reduce the latency and time lag and enhance the application’s performance significantly.

8. Minimize the DOM Access

Interactions that are taking place outside of the JavaScript native environment with the objects (DOM) of host browsers drain a lot of performance. This performance lag happens as the browser has to refresh every time.

To avoid this and improve the performance, simply limit the access to DOM. This can be achieved in a few ways such as storing references to the browser objects or decreasing the overall DOM traversal trips.

Wrapping Up

Here, I have tried to provide you with some of the best tips to improve the performance of your JavaScript-based web applications. If implemented individually, these tips will only provide you with a small performance boost. However, when implemented together, you’ll see a huge improvement in the performance.