Website minification is the process of removing unnecessary characters from your website's source code without changing its functionality. This includes:

• Whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks)
• Comments (developer notes not needed by browsers)
• Block delimiters (when they can be shortened)
• Redundant code (unused variables, duplicate settings)

This process is primarily applied to three types of files that power modern websites:

1. CSS files - Control your site's visual appearance
2. JavaScript files - Handle interactive elements
3. HTML files - Structure your web pages

The main benefits of minification include:

• Faster loading times - Smaller files download quicker
• Reduced bandwidth usage - Saves hosting resources
• Improved performance scores - Better SEO rankings
• Enhanced user experience - Pages load without delay

For example, a JavaScript file that originally contains 150KB of code might be reduced to just 80KB after minification - that's nearly 50% smaller! Most hosting control panels and content management systems offer built-in minification tools or plugins that can automate this process.

While minified code appears as a continuous block of text that's difficult for humans to read, browsers interpret it perfectly. Always keep original, unminified versions of your files for future editing, and only deploy minified versions to your live website.