What does minification remove?

Whitespace between tags, comments (configurable), optional quotes on simple attribute values, and optional closing tags on void elements. Character content inside tags is never changed.

Will minification break inline JavaScript?

No — script content is preserved verbatim. Use a dedicated JS minifier to compress the script itself.

How much size reduction is typical?

10–25% depending on how hand-formatted the source is. Templated HTML with lots of indentation shrinks more than already-dense output.

Is minified HTML still valid?

Yes — it parses identically to the pre-minified version. HTML5 tolerates the optional quote and tag omissions; HTML4/XHTML should disable those options.

HTML Minify | DevTools Surf

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Example: HTML Minify

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

<div class="card">
  <h2>Hello World</h2>
  <!-- This is a comment -->
  <p>This is a   sample   paragraph.</p>
</div>

Output

<div class="card"><h2>Hello World</h2><p>This is a sample paragraph.</p></div>

About HTML Minify

Minify HTML by removing whitespace and comments. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the HTML collection.

Use Cases

Frontend devs reducing HTML payload for faster page loads
DevOps engineers optimizing static site build output
Performance engineers shaving milliseconds off Time to First Byte
Mobile developers minimizing HTML for bandwidth-constrained users

Tips

Always keep a formatted backup before minifying
Check that inline scripts survive minification intact
Compare file sizes before and after to measure savings

Fun Facts

Google's homepage HTML is famously minified to under 100 KB, contributing to its sub-second load time.
HTML minification typically reduces file size by 10-20%, and combined with gzip compression can achieve 70-80% reduction.
The first HTML minification tools appeared around 2004, driven by the growing importance of page load performance.

FAQ

What does minification remove?: Whitespace between tags, comments (configurable), optional quotes on simple attribute values, and optional closing tags on void elements. Character content inside tags is never changed.
Will minification break inline JavaScript?: No — script content is preserved verbatim. Use a dedicated JS minifier to compress the script itself.
How much size reduction is typical?: 10–25% depending on how hand-formatted the source is. Templated HTML with lots of indentation shrinks more than already-dense output.
Is minified HTML still valid?: Yes — it parses identically to the pre-minified version. HTML5 tolerates the optional quote and tag omissions; HTML4/XHTML should disable those options.

Related HTML Tools

HTML Formatter HTML Pretty Print HTML Validator HTML Viewer HTML Minifier HTML → Plain Text JS Minifier JSON Minifier