What is the Webflow hosting CSS file and why is it large and causing a slow loading time?
TL;DR
- Delete unused styles using Webflow’s Style Manager and the Clean up feature.
- Minimize animations and interactions to reduce excess CSS.
- Limit font variations to only necessary weights and styles.
- Enable CSS minification in Project Settings > Hosting for reduced file sizes.
- Lazy load images and reuse global classes effectively to improve performance.
Webflow generates a global CSS file that includes styles for elements, classes, and interactions used across your website. If this file is large, it may be due to unused styles, excessive animations, or complex interactions, leading to slow loading times. Here’s why and how to optimize it.
1. Why the Webflow CSS File is Large
- Unused or Unneeded Styles – Every style created in the Webflow Designer is included in the global CSS, even if no element uses it.
- Auto-Generated Styles – Default styles for built-in components (e.g., rich text, forms, grids) are always included.
- Large Interactions & Animations – Webflow adds styles for all animations, even if they are applied to a few elements.
- Multiple Font Variations – Loading multiple fonts, weights, or styles increases the CSS size.
- Unused Components – Symbols, classes, and styles that remain after removing elements can still be present in the CSS.
2. How to Reduce the Webflow CSS File Size
- Delete Unused Classes – Open Webflow’s Style Manager, and remove unnecessary styles.
- Minimize Interactions & Animations – Try to use fewer complex interactions or custom animations.
- Limit Font Variants – Remove unused fonts and weights in Project Settings > Fonts.
- Avoid Excessive Global Styles – Only create styles as needed, rather than applying classes unnecessarily.
- Use Webflow’s Clean Up Utility – In Style Manager, use the “Clean up” feature to remove unused styles.
3. Optimize Website Performance Further
- Enable Minification – In Project Settings > Hosting, enable “Minify CSS” and “Minify JS” to reduce file sizes.
- Lazy Load Images – Set large images to lazy load to improve page speed without blocking initial rendering.
- Use Global Classes Efficiently – Avoid redundant styles by reusing global classes effectively.
Summary
A large Webflow CSS file is often caused by unused styles, animations, and excessive fonts. To improve loading speed, clean up unused styles, minimize complex interactions, and enable CSS minification in Project Settings.