Css and java minify and compression

Shopify Discussion
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Topic summary

A new Shopify store owner with no coding experience is struggling to minify and compress CSS and JavaScript files after receiving SEO audit warnings about site performance.

Technical approaches discussed:

  • One user recommends using webpack as a bundler, but acknowledges this requires significant technical knowledge including using Shopify CLI, npm, and configuring build tools
  • Alternatively, going headless (using frameworks like Next.js or Nuxt.js) is suggested for proper long-term optimization
  • Apps are discouraged as they inject scripts throughout the site and create maintenance issues

Practical advice given:

  • For beginners: leave the site as-is since Shopify uses Cloudflare CDN which provides adequate performance
  • A simpler manual approach: backup the theme.css.liquid file, use an online minifier tool (like Codentools CSS Minifier), create a minified version, and test before implementing
  • Run Google Lighthouse tests in incognito mode for accurate results
  • Focus on paid ads initially for traffic rather than obsessing over perfect performance scores

Key concerns:

  • Fear of breaking the site without knowing how to fix it
  • Unused CSS warnings in audits
  • Potential impact on Google rankings

Status: The original poster is leaning toward leaving things unchanged for now due to complexity, though a step-by-step manual minification process has been offered as a safer alternative.

Summarized with AI on October 26. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
4

Hi

wow that definitely sounds daunting

what about all these other threads ive been reading about minify apps and doing it this way. I just havent attempted to do it this way because im not sure which files i need to minify and also im worried about breaking something on the site, as i have zero coding experience then i wont know how to resolve it