Summary

The size of your HTML page "framework" determines the initial load time of your pages. To maximize display speed, minimize the number of bytes and objects the browser has to deal with. Here's a summarized list of what you learned in this chapter:

• Use a strict DTD to enable standards mode for maximum rendering speed.

• Minimize HTTP requests : Convert graphic text to text and consolidate.

• Remove whitespace (spaces, tabs, and returns).

• Omit redundant tags and attributes.

• Omit optional quotes and closing tags (this can violate HTML/XHTML).

• Minimize colors and character entities.

• Cut the comments.

• Minimize alt values, but make them descriptive, not generic.

• Minimize the head to maximize body display speed.

• Minimize meta tags:

  • Use only the description and keywords tags.

  • Conditionally include meta tags for critical pages.