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Course Library · Lesson 2 of 6
Digital · Guided lesson

Remove unused payload while preserving content

About 29 minutes · 7 reading + 22 practice and checks
Time includes reading, practice, and questions. Extra videos or further study are optional.
See this course’s project requirements

A before/after optimization record for a supplied local page, with resource-size accounting, reserved image dimensions, fewer blocking resources and repeatable browser measurements.

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Deliver an inventory and measurement table separating bytes, requests, timing, and content checks.
  • Produce a delivered-image byte comparison and a preserved-content visual check.
  • Verify aspect-ratio reservation and responsive fit, with an appropriate vector/raster source explanation.
  • Produce a before/after CSS request-count and preserved-style comparison.
  • Retain five actual samples, a correctly calculated median, and an explicit timed-block boundary.
  • Deliver a measured, preserve-content before/after packet with performed and unavailable checks separated.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • The implementation or declared simulation follows the supplied contract and retains inspectable original inputs.
  • Normal, boundary and rejected cases are recorded with expected versus observed results.
  • The changed case has a correct explanation and does not rely on hidden state.
  • The project includes source, outputs, instructions and honest tool, privacy and verification limits.
Open the full course project
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Before you begin

The idea in everyday life

Serve the supplied folder locally with python3 -m http.server 8765 --bind 127.0.0.1. Compare before.html and after.html. Both show the same original yellow-circle reference graphic and text; only resource packaging and image reservation change.

The idea

Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes.

Follow along

Remove unused payload while preserving content — original worked practice

Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes.

Serve the supplied folder locally with python3 -m http.server 8765 --bind 127.0.0.1. Compare before.html and after.html. Both show the same original yellow-circle reference graphic and text; only resource packaging and image reservation change.

  1. 1. Step 1

    Open large.svg as text; locate the rectangle, circle, and long unused XML comment.

    You should see: The comment adds bytes without adding a visible shape.

    Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes.

  2. 2. Step 2

    Compare small.svg: the viewBox, shape dimensions, and colors remain the same while the comment is absent.

    You should see: The intended graphic geometry is preserved.

    Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes.

  3. 3. Step 3

    Record both actual byte sizes using the supplied test output or file properties.

    You should see: The delivered image source becomes smaller.

    Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes.

  4. 4. Step 4

    Render both pages and compare the graphic and alt text; keep any observed discrepancy.

    You should see: A payload-reduction record with visual/content evidence.

    Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes.

Now change one thing

An optimizer deletes the circle as well as the comment. Is that a valid equivalent-content optimization?

Your work

What to finish

Produce a delivered-image byte comparison and a preserved-content visual check.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Reducing useful image content or alt text and calling that an equivalent optimization.

How can I tell I understand it?

Demonstrate the rule: Optimization should preserve the useful representation. The large SVG contains original unused comment padding; removing that padding keeps its visible shapes. Use the supplied variant to distinguish a changed result from a broken implementation.

Try 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.

Not yet passed

You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.

1Which large.svg element is safe to remove for this supplied equivalence task?
2Why compare rendered graphics after editing SVG text?
3What evidence supports the actual payload reduction?
0 of 3 answeredApply the lesson to a short question, then review the explanation.
2
Finish this lesson

Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.

Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.

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Sources and further reading

Explore the references behind this lesson.

developer.mozilla.org — Performance
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Relevant documented module/API behavior inspected during expansion authoring; actual execution evidence is recorded separately. No grant eligibility is established.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01. Documentation reading does not certify execution in every native tool or browser.

Reuse: Original local practice files, fictional data, worked examples and questions. Concepts paraphrased and linked; source exercises are not copied.

developer.mozilla.org — Responsive_images
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Relevant documented module/API behavior inspected during expansion authoring; actual execution evidence is recorded separately. No grant eligibility is established.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01. Documentation reading does not certify execution in every native tool or browser.

Reuse: Original local practice files, fictional data, worked examples and questions. Concepts paraphrased and linked; source exercises are not copied.

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