Performance improvement - Render blocking and unused Java script help

Hi team!

I am just exploring Chrome Devtools for the first time to improve site performance. A couple of main things that have popped up are 

- eliminate render blocking resources

- remove unused javascript/ CSS

I am a newbie and can't find anything online on how to actually do this. Can anyone help? Point me to a guide somewhere? Would really appreciate it :)

Thanks

Sandra

On 7/25/2020 at 4:11 AM, paul2009 said:

These are part of the Squarespace's custom CMS platform and you cannot remove them.

Bear in mind that these tools are designed for developers who code their sites from scratch and have full control over their code and styles. When you use these tools to test Squarespace sites you'll see results that are not relevant to you.

Things worth considering when trying to increase site performance include:

• Squarespace 7.1 can appear faster for visitors than Squarespace 7.0 (although it is currently slower on the back-end where you configure it)
• Squarespace 7.0 Brine-family sites have a feature called Ajax Loading which improves performance over 7.0 templates without this feature.
• Keep image sizes low. Ideally, images should be less than 500KB in size, with a width of 1500px or 2500px.
• Keep galleries small. Ideally, limit them to 50 images each. 
• Keep Banner Slideshows small (less than 10 images), especially on Index pages.
• Use JPEG (.jpg) images where possible (but PNGs for logos). Limit the number of GIFs.
• Avoid embedding content where possible. Don't embed content or libraries unless they are essential.
• Reduce the number of fonts. Fonts must all load behind the scenes before the page can appear in the browser.

-Paul

So basically what are you saying is switch platforms if you want a website that performs better. 🙂

On 7/25/2020 at 12:11 PM, paul2009 said:

These are part of the Squarespace's custom CMS platform and you cannot remove them.

Bear in mind that these tools are designed for developers who code their sites from scratch and have full control over their code and styles. When you use these tools to test Squarespace sites you'll see results that are not relevant to you.

Things worth considering when trying to increase site performance include:

• Squarespace 7.1 can appear faster for visitors than Squarespace 7.0 (although it is currently slower on the back-end where you configure it)
• Squarespace 7.0 Brine-family sites have a feature called Ajax Loading which improves performance over 7.0 templates without this feature.
• Keep image sizes low. Ideally, images should be less than 500KB in size, with a width of 1500px or 2500px.
• Keep galleries small. Ideally, limit them to 50 images each. 
• Keep Banner Slideshows small (less than 10 images), especially on Index pages.
• Use JPEG (.jpg) images where possible (but PNGs for logos). Limit the number of GIFs.
• Avoid embedding content where possible. Don't embed content or libraries unless they are essential.
• Reduce the number of fonts. Fonts must all load behind the scenes before the page can appear in the browser.

-Paul

Dear Paul, I have similar performance problems with my page. I'm using analysing platforms such as Sistrix or PageSpeedInsights, and they all say the same: Reduce unused JavaScripr or try to bundle the Script applications. I'm a bit fed up when Squarespace is saying there can't be done anything. We're paying money for the service!

On 7/25/2020 at 3:11 AM, paul2009 said:

These are part of the Squarespace's custom CMS platform and you cannot remove them.

Bear in mind that these tools are designed for developers who code their sites from scratch and have full control over their code and styles. When you use these tools to test Squarespace sites you'll see results that are not relevant to you.

Things worth considering when trying to increase site performance include:

• Squarespace 7.1 can appear faster for visitors than Squarespace 7.0 (although it is currently slower on the back-end where you configure it)
• Squarespace 7.0 Brine-family sites have a feature called Ajax Loading which improves performance over 7.0 templates without this feature.
• Keep image sizes low. Ideally, images should be less than 500KB in size, with a width of 1500px or 2500px.
• Keep galleries small. Ideally, limit them to 50 images each. 
• Keep Banner Slideshows small (less than 10 images), especially on Index pages.
• Use JPEG (.jpg) images where possible (but PNGs for logos). Limit the number of GIFs.
• Avoid embedding content where possible. Don't embed content or libraries unless they are essential.
• Reduce the number of fonts. Fonts must all load behind the scenes before the page can appear in the browser.

-Paul

Okay, but I am still getting a "poor" rating from Page Speed Insights on pages without any pictures, background images, or gifs, with only a few text boxes, all with the same font. My logo is around 100KB. And it says JavaScript and render-blocking are almost solely responsible for my slow speed.

Is it possible to contact Squarespace and ask them to fix this? Or at the very least does Google not punish Squarespace sites for loading a couple seconds longer? 

I'm not too worried about the customers who already want to buy from me (I do art commissions), but I am worried that my SEOs will go down the tank because Google recently started getting stricter with load times and what sites are prioritized.

On 11/18/2021 at 8:36 AM, FinnRedwoodArt said:

Okay, but I am still getting a "poor" rating from Page Speed Insights...And it says JavaScript and render-blocking are almost solely responsible for my slow speed. Is it possible to contact Squarespace and ask them to fix this?

This topic can be confusing, so let me try to clarify.

I'm not saying that Squarespace performance cannot be improved. Performance can always be improved, regardless of the platform, but in reply to the original question, I'm simply explaining that there is nothing that you or I - or any third party specialist - can do to reduce "unused" or render-blocking JavaScript on Squarespace.

Only Squarespace's Web Performance team can improve the backend code. They've already made significant progress to ensure Squarespace sites compete well and there is more to follow. Where possible, they have removed render-blocking Javascript and are lazy-loading images across websites.

If you're using version  7.0 (or planning to use it) then it's worth bearing in mind that not all of the improvements being made will benefit version 7.0 sites. If you are looking for higher performance, version 7.1 is likely to show better CWVs over time in comparison.

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Hi there,

I have similar performance problems, I downsized my images etc. I got poor ratings on performance and sadly the pages are not appearing smoothly on my mobile. A big disappointment. I have only five pages, no animations. How is this possible, is my only help to switch platform?

Site URL: https://sparrowstartup.com/

CONTEXT:

I've been using https://pagespeed.web.dev/ to find ways to speed up my website. There's been multiple Javascript files which are unused (according to that site). Removing them will speed up load times on mobile/desktop for my website: https://sparrowstartup.com/

If you run my website on that testing site, it'll tell you some scripts should be removed, as shown in the picture attached. Doing so, would help my website load faster on mobile and desktop.

THE ASK:

(1) Can you please recommend how I can do so? My current score is low, I want to be above 70. Any honest, detailed tips would be very much appreciated.

(2) Based on the report from that site, Is there anything else other than removing javascript, that can help me speed up the website?

CC: @tuanphan @bangank36 @creedon | THANK YOU!

I can comment on the removing Javascript part of your question.

Unless you've added custom Javascript to your site there is nothing you can do to your site to remove Javascript. This is something only SS can do as they have access to the backend and we don't.

In other words you can remove Javascript you installed yourself on your site but not the Javascript installed by SS.

You can of course report to SS via customer support about unused Javascript but if they'll act on your info only SS knows.

23 hours ago, creedon said:

I can comment on the removing Javascript part of your question.

Unless you've added custom Javascript to your site there is nothing you can do to your site to remove Javascript. This is something only SS can do as they have access to the backend and we don't.

In other words you can remove Javascript you installed yourself on your site but not the Javascript installed by SS.

You can of course report to SS via customer support about unused Javascript but if they'll act on your info only SS knows.

 

Thanks Creed! 🙂

Waiting on some other responses to see if I can remove those specific scripts that the report pointed out.

I wouldn't say the topic is that confusing, there is a lot that could be done on squarespace side, and they should do more as you are paying for SAAS. Its just as a consumer of their product your hands are tied, and your options are accept it or change platform.

For the record our site also loads extremely slowly, into the minutes for pages to render on a slow connection. As mentioned you can reduce image size and quality, but that's about it. 

Hi @Sparrow-Startup-Advisors - did you have any luck with this? 

Hey! 

I'm trying to improve my website performance.

Does anyone know how to ignore unused javascript in the header? or some other way? 

Hi there,

I'd love to hear if you had any luck resolving this issue with SquareSpace? I have exactly the same issue with JavaScript which I haven't installed so no idea how to resolve it 🙄

@Sparrow-Startup-Advisors

Just wondering, did you get in touch with SS and did they provide any help on this? I have the same issues and it's really bugging me that we cannot fix it somehow.