How to fix uncached javaScript & CSS files
How to fix uncached javaScript & CSS files Let’s talk about what you should do when you encounter issues with unminified, uncompressed, or uncached Javascript and CSS files.
These are all fairly similar with some slight differences but the good news is that they can usually all be taken care of with one step.
To fix these sorts of issues, I like to use a plugin because otherwise, it requires a lot of manual labor and some coding experience which not everyone has. Therefore, a plug-in would be very helpful in this scenario.
Normally I don’t like using plugins if you don’t have to but this is one of those cases where a plugin is definitely worth it.
At the moment, we’re using a plugin called Autoptimize and it’s fairly simple to use.
You can get access to the basic settings for free but it also has some paid upgrades for more advanced settings. If you want to get more advanced, do check out our resource guide for the most up-to-date recommendation.
We always have options in terms of plugins we recommend but these recommendations change from time to time. You want to make sure to get what we recommend at the moment so you’re updated on the top plugins.
Once you install the plugin, you’ll see something like this when you go to the settings for the plugin. You’ll probably also see some basic options. It’s best to start off with whatever looks like the most basic option.
If there’s something checked by default, you’d probably want to leave that on. Don’t check off any of the other boxes for the time being and check what looks to be the most basic settings such as optimize Javascript code and more.
Scroll down to the bottom and save those changes. You will also see an option to Save your Changes and Empty your Cache.
Then go ahead and go back to your SEMrush audit and rerun that audit.
Because what happens a lot of times with JavaScript and CSS, you might do the steps above and it might get rid of some of the errors in your SEMrush audit, but might create new ones.
That’s the reason I start off by doing the most basic because if you start off by doing everything here and checking all of the options in the settings, that’s inevitably going to lead to other problems.
So start off by doing the basics, rerun your audit and get rid of what is reported as the errors in SEMrush.
And it’s okay if it leaves some warnings or notices. In this case, it’s fine because sometimes it’s a trade-off between something that is really important and something that is less important.
As long as you can get rid of the big errors that will help to bring your score up, then you can go back and check some additional boxes at more advanced settings.
Just make sure to go back and rerun your audit because these extra boxes often have a tendency to create other problems that might be worse than the one you’re trying to resolve.
This approach might be hit-or-miss and can be some kind of trial and error but it’s worth doing. You might also want to check out our resource guide to see some recently available options for the plugin because our recommendations change over the months and years so make sure you’re getting the updated one.