I was trying to optimize my dnn installation, and as a part of it, was optimizing css & js files.
I squeezed out every bit of redundant white-space from them. But still, the number of css & js files on a DNN5 portal page are so over-whelming that the user has to wait a considerable amount of time before the first page renders.
Then, I tried another trick (which backfired). I copy-pasted all css from all files into a single file (portal.css) and zeroed out all others. This was in the hope that after portal.css downloads, the page could render smoothly while the browser continues downloading other empty files which would not impact page rendering. However, this resulted in the page look to be disturbed. Seems like that was because of the ordering rules of css. So, in which order should I paste css into a single file (portal.css, then container.css, then default.css etc. ) so that the net inheritance & overriding rules are same had the css been on different files?
Also, can I do the same for js files? Is it a good idea to copy paste all static js files required on the home page to the first js file that downloads and zero out all others??
Finally, is there a way to control which files are linked into to a page by DNN? Like if I dont use jQuery on my portal, why should it be linked in at the first place. Similarly, I can paste all css content to a single file, and remove the linking in of all other css files. (If I remove skin.css from my Portal skin folder or container.css from container folder, would that still be linked in)??
Finally, I was looking for the "Enable Ajax" option in DNN 5? Where has that option gone from "DNN 5" Host Settings?