Boosting Performance with CSS Will-Change: A Developer’s Guide

Unlocking the Power of CSS Will-Change

The CSS will-change property is a powerful tool that allows developers to hint to the browser about upcoming changes to an element’s properties. By providing this hint, the browser can optimize its rendering of the element, potentially resulting in better performance. However, using will-change requires careful consideration to avoid overuse, which can harm performance.

Understanding Will-Change

The will-change property informs the browser that an element’s properties are likely to change soon. This allows the browser to prepare for the change by optimizing its rendering of the element. The property can be used to improve performance in various scenarios, such as:

• Optimizing Animations: By informing the browser about upcoming animations, will-change can help improve animation performance.
• Preventing Repaints and Reflows: Will-change can help prevent unnecessary repaints and reflows, which can impact page performance.

Using Will-Change Effectively

To use will-change effectively, developers should follow these best practices:

• Use it sparingly: Only apply will-change to elements that are likely to change soon and benefit from optimization.
• Avoid overuse: Overusing will-change can harm performance. Limit its use to specific cases, such as animating an element or changing its properties.
• Remove it when unnecessary: Remove will-change as soon as it is no longer needed to avoid unnecessary performance overhead.

When to Use Will-Change

Will-change can be useful in various scenarios, including:

• Animating Elements: Use will-change to inform the browser about upcoming animations and improve animation performance.
• Changing Element Properties: Use will-change to inform the browser about upcoming changes to an element’s properties, such as its size or position.

When to Avoid Using Will-Change

There are scenarios where using will-change may not be beneficial or can even harm performance:

• During Active Animations or Transitions: Avoid applying will-change to an element during an active animation or transition.
• Unpredictable Changes: If changes to an element are unpredictable and frequent, using will-change may not be beneficial.
• Small Elements: Using will-change on small elements may not provide significant performance benefits.

Browser Support

The will-change property is supported in most modern browsers, including:

• Microsoft Edge 79+
• Google Chrome 36.0+
• Mozilla Firefox 36.0+
• Apple Safari 9.1+
• Opera 24+

By understanding when and how to use the will-change property, developers can leverage this powerful tool to improve the performance of their websites and applications.