Use Text Compression

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Text compression means shrinking text-based files like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JSON before sending them to the browser. Gzip and Brotli are the most common methods, and they can dramatically reduce transfer sizes. Enabling compression is one of the easiest server-side performance wins.

Text Compression

Text compression is a server-side technique that shrinks text-based files before they travel over the network. When a browser requests your page, the server compresses the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other text files using algorithms like gzip or Brotli, then sends the smaller version. The browser decompresses it instantly on arrival. The savings are dramatic — text compression typically reduces file sizes by 60 to 80 percent. A 200-kilobyte JavaScript file might arrive as 50 kilobytes over the wire. The best part is that it requires no changes to your code. You enable it on the server once and every text-based response benefits automatically.

Why It Matters

It dramatically reduces transfer sizes. Text-based resources like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript compress extremely well because they contain repetitive patterns. Compression reduces transfer size by 60 to 80 percent, meaning pages load significantly faster.
It speeds up every text-based request. Once enabled, compression applies to HTML documents, stylesheets, scripts, JSON responses, SVGs, and any other text format. Every single request for these resources benefits without any per-file configuration.
It saves bandwidth for everyone. Smaller transfers mean less bandwidth consumed by both your server and your visitors. On metered mobile connections, compression can save users real money. For high-traffic sites, it reduces hosting bandwidth costs.
It is nearly free. Modern servers compress and browsers decompress so quickly that the CPU cost is negligible compared to the time saved on network transfer. Compression is one of the rare optimizations with virtually no trade-off.

How to Enable It

Enable gzip on your web server. Most web servers support gzip compression out of the box. For Apache, enable mod_deflate. For Nginx, add gzip directives to your configuration. Most hosting providers have this enabled by default, but verify it is active.
Enable Brotli for better compression. Brotli is a newer compression algorithm that achieves 15 to 20 percent better compression ratios than gzip. It is supported by all modern browsers and can be enabled alongside gzip as the preferred option.
Compress the right file types. Configure compression for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, XML, SVG, and plain text. Do not compress images, videos, or fonts — these are already in compressed binary formats and compressing them again wastes CPU without reducing size.
Verify compression is working. Check the response headers for your resources and look for Content-Encoding: gzip or Content-Encoding: br. If you do not see these headers, compression is not active and needs to be configured.
Consider static pre-compression. For files that do not change between requests, you can compress them once during the build process and serve the pre-compressed versions. This eliminates the CPU cost of compressing on every request.

Common Mistakes

Assuming compression is already enabled. Many people assume their hosting provider or CDN enables compression by default. Check the actual response headers to verify rather than assuming. A surprising number of sites serve uncompressed text resources.
Compressing already-compressed formats. JPEG, PNG, WebP, WOFF2, and video files are already compressed. Running gzip on them wastes CPU time and can actually make files slightly larger. Only compress text-based formats.
Only using gzip when Brotli is available. Brotli consistently achieves better compression ratios. If your server supports it, configure Brotli as the preferred algorithm with gzip as a fallback for older clients.
Thinking compression replaces minification. Compression reduces transfer size. Minification reduces source size. They complement each other — a minified and compressed file is smaller than one that is only compressed. Use both.

Bottom Line: Enable gzip and Brotli compression on your server, apply it to all text-based resources, verify it is working through response headers, and pair it with minification. It is one of the easiest and most impactful server-side optimizations — a single configuration change that benefits every page load.

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Synonyms: Gzip, Brotli, File Compression

What Does "Liquid Purple" mean?

noun | / LIK-wid PUR-pul /

(biochemistry) Also known as visual purple or rhodopsin — a light-sensitive receptor protein found in the rods of the retina. It enables vision in dim light by transforming invisible darkness into visible form. Derived from the Greek rhódon (rose) and ópsis (sight), its name reflects its delicate pink hue and vital role in perception.
(modern usage) Liquid Purple — a digital marketing agency specializing in uncovering unseen opportunities and illuminating brands hidden in the digital dark. Much like its biological namesake, Liquid Purple transforms faint signals into clear visibility — revealing what others overlook and bringing businesses into the light.

Origin: From the scientific term rhodopsin, discovered by Franz Christian Boll in 1876; adopted metaphorically by a marketing firm dedicated to visual clarity in the age of algorithms.

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