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diff --git a/posts/improving-tufte-jekyll.md b/posts/improving-tufte-jekyll.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d311dfd --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/improving-tufte-jekyll.md @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +# Improving Tufte CSS for Jekyll + +2019-11-01 + +After creating the ET-Jekyll theme almost two years ago, I finally got around to revamping the structure and improving a lot of minor performance issues. Items that have been surely needing of updates for the last couple of years. + +## Introductions + +I've always been a sucker for Edward Tufte's incredibly simple, yet powerful design work used in his books and handout projects. So, in 2018 I released a Tufte CSS inspired Jekyll theme for the open source community. I called it [ET-Jekyll](https://et-jekyll.netlify.com) (so original, I know). Tufte CSS was a great starting point for my Jekyll theme, but there were areas I thought could use some minor improvements. + +Feel free to read all the details on the design here: [ET-Jekyll theme details](https://et-jekyll.netlify.com/et-jekyll-theme/) + +## Minor Fixes One Year Later + +When I finally circled back to this project recently, I noticed some minor issues that could be improved right away with little to no effort. Let's see the changes made at a glance: + +- Sidenote, marginnote and figure element restyling (flexbox) +- Table styling fixes (right alignment issues) +- Switch MathJax over to SVG embeds (performance fixes) +- Simplify HTML skeleton of main pages, remove overkill classes +- Remove lazysizes.js to save on load times +- Fallback on font-display for font loading +- Inline all CSS for faster initial paint +- Minor link :hover coloring (accessibility) +- Add missing image link on example page +- Update details post structure + +You can view all the updates in more detail [here](https://github.com/bradleytaunt/ET-Jekyll/commit/254f9e8f28764c9525ba7405bbbfa18a3867d241). + +**So what did this accomplish?** Let's break it down below. + +## First Contentful Paint & Input Delay + +The new improvements have netted the theme a savings of 300ms on first paint and reduced the input delay by 150ms. Small wins - but wins nonetheless since every millisecond counts. + +<figure> + <img src="/public/images/tufte-first-paint.webp" alt="First paint comparison" /> + <figcaption>First contentful paint savings: 300ms (<a href="/public/images/tufte-first-paint.webp">direct link to image)</a></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure> + <img src="/public/images/tufte-input-delay.webp" alt="Input delay comparison" /> + <figcaption>Reduction in input delay: 370ms down to 220ms (<a href="/public/images/tufte-input-delay.webp">direct link to image</a>)</figcaption> +</figure> + +## Fixing Render Blocking Items + +The original theme reported a few items that were slowing down the initial render for the end-users: + + +| URL | Size (KB) | Savings (ms) | +|-----|------|---------| +| /css/style.css | 2.0 | 150 | +| /lazysizes@4.0.1/lazysizes.js | 5.0 | 960 | +| MathJax.js?config=TeX-MML-AM_CHTML | 18.0 | 1,260 | + + +These items were resolved by: + +- Rendering all styling inline (therefore removing the extra HTTP request) +- Removing the lazysizes library altogether (browsers plan to support lazy loading natively in the future) + - The future plan is to integrate something like Cloudinary for out-of-the-box image processing +- Switch over MathJax to render equations as embedded SVGs (saves on bandwidth rendering an entire extra typeface) + +## Lighthouse Numbers + +Though it might not look like much, the updated theme receives a 4-point boost to its performance rating during a Lighthouse audit. Having a perfect score would be even better, but I can settle for 2-points under (for now). + +#### Old Version + + +| Performance | Accessibility | Best Practices | SEO | +|---|---|---|---| +| 94 | 100 | 100 | 100 | + + +#### New Version + + +| Performance | Accessibility | Best Practices | SEO | +|---|---|---|---| +| 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 | + + +## Final Thoughts + +This project could still use some more fine-tuning, but for now I'm fairly happy with the outcome. Even the smallest boost in performance and rendering time makes me feel like I accomplished something worthwhile. + +Please don't hesitate to suggest features or point out any issues you happen to stumble across if you plan to use ET-Jekyll. Thanks for reading! |