What is a Resource Hint?
A Resource Hint is a directive that prompts the browser to pre-emptively fetch or connect to resources, improving page load speed. These hints can include dns-prefetch, preconnect, prefetch, and prerender, and they substantially enhance user experience.
Understanding Preload Resource Hint
The preload hint allows specifying URLs for the browser to preload, beneficial for resource-intensive pages and lowering load times.
Prefetch vs Prerender
Prefetch and prerender both aim to optimize future navigations but vary in scope. Prefetch pre-fetches specific resources, while prerender pre-renders entire pages, helping you choose the right hint.
What is DNS Prefetching?
DNS prefetching pre-resolves domain names before user interaction, reducing latency and quickening resource load times.
Why is Preload Beneficial?
Preloading reduces application start-up time by storing target files in RAM, which is faster than hard drive reading, thus making applications more responsive.
Difference Between Preload and Cache
Preload and caching optimize website performance but differ in function. Preload is tied to cache clearing for updated pages, while caching retains old data to avoid redundant transfers.
Examples of Prerendering
Prerendering is common in search engines like Google to pre-render the first page in search results, reducing load time upon selection.