Speed is king. A slow visitor experience can break your website. Most websites on a CMS can become unbearably slow because they get too complex, causing excessive Document Object Model (DOM) size.
DOM is made up of all the layouts on your page (such as templates, modules, layouts, and scripts). Often overlooked, the size of your page's DOM significantly impacts how fast users browse your site. Excessive DOM size affects everything from load times to website performance scores. Let's take a look at how a hefty DOM could be weighing down your website and what you can do to lighten the load.
For those who might not be developers or familiar with the practice, the DOM is essentially the structural blueprint of your webpage. It's a representation of your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that the browser uses to render your site. When users load a page, the browser constructs this model to display all elements correctly.
However, if your DOM becomes excessively large (think thousands of unnecessary nodes) it can cause your site to become sluggish. This can lead to longer load times, increased memory usage, and a frustrating user experience.
A large DOM size can impact users in various ways:
Compare these layout examples that contribute to DOM size. The layout on the left is far simpler than the layout on the right. If you're viewing on mobile, the first is simpler, the second more complex.
Creating a streamlined DOM doesn't mean compromising on design; it's about crafting efficient code. Here are some best practices:
When building templates and pages on HubSpot CMS, keeping your DOM lean starts with smart design practices:
Websites are cluttered enough; yours doesn’t need to contribute to the chaos. By maintaining a lean DOM, you’re offering users a snappy, delightful experience while improving your site's SEO and performance. Take time to audit your website’s DOM, prune unnecessary elements, and embrace simplicity. After all, the best experiences are often the simplest.
Let's Keep It Simple, Smarty!
Now is the perfect time to evaluate your website's structure. Why not kick off with an audit today and see where you can improve? Start with the free Chrome Inspect tool. Your users—and your website metrics—will surely thank you.