How GOV.UK Boosted Performance by Dropping jQuery: 31% JS Size Reduction
Matt Hobbs, the front‑end lead at GOV.UK, removed jQuery from 13 applications, cutting JavaScript size by up to 49 % and improving key performance metrics such as processing time, First CPU Idle, and long‑task duration, even under poor network conditions.
Matt Hobbs, front‑end lead at GOV.UK, announced that jQuery has been removed as a dependency from all front‑end applications on the site.
The removal affected 13 front‑end apps, reducing the JavaScript payload by about 32 KB—a decrease of roughly 31 % to 49 %.
Performance data after the change shows:
Overall front‑end processing time decreased, improving performance.
Key metrics such as First CPU Idle and JS Long Tasks show a downward trend.
Even under extreme network or device conditions, noticeable improvements were observed.
Matt said the jQuery removal is part of the team’s effort to reduce technical debt, and they will continue evaluating other legacy technologies for removal.
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Programmer DD
A tinkering programmer and author of "Spring Cloud Microservices in Action"
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