Tag Archives: firebug

What’s groovy in Firebug 1.5

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Now Firebug 1.5 is out in the wild. What really impressed me is the significant difference between the last version and the really user friendly interface it gives.

One of my favorite features is that you can now sort the different columns in the Net panel. Now you can clearly see what’s the biggest component and what makes more traffic. This helps a lot once you decide to optimize the web page you’re watching.

Another good tool is that you can see the computed style, which however is only for Firefox and gives you partial information about all styles in different browsers, but it’s useful though.

I was pretty impressed by this version and I’d like to recommend it!

What should I optimize first in my web page?

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I start with the optimization process …

It’s a common question! Where do I begin with the optimization process. Should I start with JavaScript or with some simple Apache optimizations? The answer is pretty simple and it’s related to a very, very simple technique.

Look what Firebug is saying

Yeah, look at the Firebug. You can check what’s taking most of the time to load. If it’s some server site script you can try caching it, if it’s a JavaScript file load, than you can try minify/compile it. Another good tool is the Safari developer tool. Than you can graphically understand what part of the sites’ components are slowing down the loading process. Whether the images or the JavaScript, well check that out with the Safari browser.

Finally what I do?

Once you know what’s the thing slowing down the site, start with its optimization! It’s really simple.