Are "consolidated CSS" still useful?

Classic
1

Now that internet explorer 6 to 10 have virtually disappeared, it is still useful to use the “Consolidated CSS”?
Particularly I would like to know your views concerning:
speed
compatibility
SEO

thanks

2

Yes, CSS consolidation should always be enabled, unless you have specific reason to disable it. The only logical reason I can think of for disabling CSS consolidation would perhaps be in a very old theme that wasn’t coded in a conventional way. Even then, they’d probably be a strong case for migrating to a newer theme.

Many theme frameworks, embedded fonts and icon sets are pathed on the assumption that CSS consolidation is enabled. So if you turn it off, the chances are that quite a lot of stuff in your webpages might break.

CSS consolidation will speed up the loading of webpages. Typically where you might have 30 or more separate HTTP calls to various stylesheets, CSS consolidation will merge those into just one or two (normally screen and print styles). With consolidation on, pages will typically have a snappier feel to them when loading - less stagnated loading and shifting of elements.

There is no direct impact on SEO. However it’s a well-known fact that search engines rank faster loading webpages higher in their SERPs (search engine result pages), in reflection of the better VE (visitor experience) gained.

The only negatives of CSS consolidation is that some people have reported slower previewing and exporting of pages within RapidWeaver. But I’d say the benefits of CSS consolidation far outweigh any negatives.

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3

Thanks Will, as always: you were clear and exhaustive.
Unfortunately there are some themes (new ones), that need to disable the CSS consolidation to have compatibility with certain stacks (also new) or simply to work correctly … :disappointed:

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