How can you reduce the payload size of a JavaScript application?
If JavaScript applications load slowly and have poor performance, the problem is that the payload is too large. Solutions include: 1. Use Code Splitting, split the large bundle into multiple small files through React.lazy() or build tools, and load it as needed to reduce the amount of first downloads; 2. Remove unused code (Tree Shaking), use the ES6 module mechanism to clear "dead code" to ensure that the introduced libraries support this feature; 3. Compress and merge resource files, enable Gzip/Brotli and Terser to compress JS, reasonably merge files and optimize static resources; 4. Replace heavy-duty dependencies, choose lightweight libraries such as day.js, fetch, Preact, and view package volume through CDN or Bundlephobia to achieve more efficient resource management.

sure. If you find that your JavaScript application is slow to load and poor to perform, the problem is often the case with "the payload is too big". Simply put, the amount of code users need to download and parse is too much, which slows down the startup speed. To solve this problem, there are actually many practical methods, and the following are the most common and effective.
1. Use Code Splitting
Modern front-end frameworks (such as React and Vue) all support code splitting. The core idea is to split a large bundle into multiple small files and load them on demand.
For example, in React you can use React.lazy() Suspense to lazy load components:
const LazyComponent = React.lazy(() => import('./LazyComponent'));
The advantage of this is that the user does not need to download the code of the entire application when he visits the first time, he only needs to download the required parts of the current page. As the user navigates to other pages, the corresponding module is dynamically loaded.
Tips: Webpack, Vite and other construction tools will automatically help you split your code, but you must ensure that the routing or module division is reasonable and do not let "on demand" become "disassembled".
2. Remove unused code (Tree Shaking)
Many projects have introduced a large number of third-party libraries, but only a small part of the functions are used. This part of useless code is "dead code" and should be cleared.
Tree shaking is an optimization technique that can identify and delete unused export modules during packaging. The premise is that these libraries must use the import/export syntax of ES6, and CommonJS is not very friendly.
For example, you wrote:
import { debounce } from 'lodash';If you just use a function, the packaging tool can only retain the code related to this function, rather than the entire lodash.
suggestion:
- Priority is given to using libraries that support tree-shaking (for example, Lodash already has an esm version)
- Avoid using a writing method like
import * as _ from 'lodash'
3. Compress and merge resource files
Compression is nothing new, but many people ignore its importance. Common practices include:
- Enable Gzip or Brotli compression (server side configuration)
- Use Webpack/Terser to compress JS files (variable name shortening, comment removal, etc.)
- Merge multiple JS files into one (if code splitting is not required)
For example, it is very simple to enable compression in Webpack, and TerserPlugin is generally enabled by default:
optimization: {
minimize: true,
}In addition, note that static resources such as pictures and fonts may also affect the overall payload, remember to optimize them together.
4. Replace heavy dependencies
Sometimes, the reason why payload is big is very direct - you use too heavy dependency packages. for example:
- Use moment.js instead of day.js (moment is almost twice as big as the former)
- Use full axios instead of fetch (although it has many features, but it is also heavier)
- When introducing UI component libraries, import them in full instead of loading on demand
The solution is also simple: find lightweight alternatives to load on demand . For example:
- Replace React with Preact (smaller)
- Use a CDN like unpkg to view module size
- Use Bundlephobia to view the true volume of npm packages
Basically that's it. Reducing JS payload is not difficult. The key is to understand what code the user really needs and how to control these contents during the development and construction stages. Some methods may seem cumbersome at first, but they will be of great help in performance and user experience in the long run.
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