An HTML compressor, also known as a “minifier,” removes unnecessary characters from HTML code to reduce file size and increase website speed. It eliminates non-essential comments, spaces, and closing tags while shortening long pieces of code.
A HyperText Markup Language (HTML) compressor is a computer application that strips unnecessary characters from a file of HTML code. This type of program is also known as a “minifier,” as it shrinks the code to the smallest possible size. An HTML compressor removes irrelevant areas of code, but still allows the program to work as intended. The main purpose of an HTML minifier is to reduce the size of Internet files to increase the speed of a website.
All over the world, HTML code is one of the most used programming languages for websites. Web browsers use HTML code to determine the content and layout of a page. Organizations such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have published guidelines for the recommended structure of an HTML file. Despite these guidelines, there are several approaches a website developer can use when coding a page. In many cases, the code is “overwritten” and is longer than necessary.
An HTML compressor analyzes the contents of a code file and removes redundant elements. Non-essential comments entered by programmers, for example, are automatically removed. Spaces between elements and lines of code are also eliminated. These areas of “white space” allow human programmers to easily interpret the code, but are not required for HTML browsers.
In addition to removing unnecessary comments and spaces in a file, an HTML compressor can also strip out other irrelevant programming expressions. Many HTML programs include a closing “tag” that indicates the end of a paragraph or other layout area. While these closing tags are logical, modern browsers don’t require them. Some varieties of HTML compressors will minimize the code by locating and removing these tags.
A compressor can also edit long pieces of code and shorten them whenever possible. Some of the code used in a web page can be written in a long or short format. For example, HTML code “” will cause a text area to have a strikethrough style. An HTML compressor can replace these elements with the shorthand term “”, which performs the same task.
It is not uncommon for an HTML web page to contain hundreds or even thousands of lines of code. By eliminating any redundant areas, a compressor can drastically reduce the size of the entire file. This can significantly increase the overall speed and efficiency of a website and minimize the data bandwidth required to load each page.
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