Methods of Automated CSS Refactoring for Web Application Performance Optimization

Abstract

This paper investigates the effectiveness of automated CSS refactoring techniques in optimizing web application performance. Focusing on two key methods - removal of unused CSS and implementation of scoped CSS - the study conducts experiments on both dynamic and static web pages. Performance metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) are used to measure the impact of these techniques. The results reveal that removing unused CSS consistently improves performance, with a 4.77% decrease in loading time for dynamic pages and a 3.58% decrease for static pages. Surprisingly, the implementation of scoped CSS led to slight performance degradations in the test environment. This research provides insights into the relative effectiveness of these automated CSS optimization strategies and highlights the need for context-specific testing in web development practices. The findings contribute to the ongoing discussion on best practices for CSS performance optimization in modern web applications.