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Optimizing style recalculation speed with CSS only

Blog post from LogRocket

Post Details
Company
Date Published
Author
Oscar Jite-Orimiono
Word Count
2,326
Language
-
Hacker News Points
-
Summary

Webpage interaction results in visible changes, but the underlying processes are complex and can impact performance, especially for users with slower devices or networks. Developers need to understand the browser's rendering process, which involves creating a Document Object Model (DOM) tree, applying CSS, and executing JavaScript to display the page. Style recalculation is a crucial step, triggered by DOM changes, which can be optimized by reducing DOM size, minimizing stylesheet size, and using specific selectors. Large or frequent DOM mutations and non-optimal CSS animations can slow down rendering, affecting user experience. Optimal animations, like those using the transform property, minimize browser workload compared to less efficient methods like margin-top animations. Tools like LogRocket can help developers monitor and optimize client-side performance to ensure a smooth user experience, even on less powerful devices.