---
name: best-practices
version: "2.0"
last_updated: 2026-09-08
tags: [best, practices]
description: "Apply modern web development best practices for security, compatibility, and code quality. Use when asked to \"apply best practices\", \"security audit\", \"modernize code\", \"code quality review\", or \"check for vulnerabilities\"."
license: "MIT"
---
# Best practices
Modern web development standards based on Lighthouse best practices audits. Covers security, browser compatibility, and code quality patterns.
## Evidence-led audit workflow
When a rendered page is available:
1. Run a live Lighthouse Best Practices audit when that capability is available; with Chrome DevTools MCP, use `lighthouse_audit`. Use navigation mode for a normal page load or snapshot mode when the current state must be preserved.
2. Inspect the listed console and network failures and fetch individual details only when they support a finding.
3. Supplement runtime evidence with dependency, header, configuration, and source inspection; Lighthouse is not a complete security assessment.
4. Fix the implicated code, re-run the same audit, and keep security findings separate from style preferences.
If live tools are unavailable, use the Lighthouse CLI plus focused dependency and header checks. Never report a high Lighthouse score as proof that the application is secure.
## Security
Read [the security reference](references/SECURITY.md) when security is in scope or a live audit surfaces a related failure. It covers HTTPS/HSTS, CSP and Trusted Types, Subresource Integrity, headers, dependencies, sanitization, and cookies.
At minimum:
* **Use HTTPS without mixed content.** Add HSTS only after confirming every relevant subdomain supports HTTPS.
* **Treat a strict CSP as defense in depth.** Prefer nonces or hashes and test with report-only before enforcement.
* **Sanitize untrusted HTML and protect DOM XSS sinks.** Prefer text APIs when markup is not required.
* **Pin and review third-party code.** Use SRI where the delivery model supports it and keep dependencies patched.
* **Verify response headers at runtime.** Source configuration alone does not prove what the deployed page sends.
## Browser compatibility
### Doctype declaration
```html
```
### Character encoding
```html
PagePage
```
### Viewport meta tag
```html
PagePage
```
### Feature detection
```javascript
// ❌ Browser detection (brittle)
if (navigator.userAgent.includes('Chrome')) {
// Chrome-specific code
}
// ✅ Feature detection
if ('IntersectionObserver' in window) {
// Use IntersectionObserver
} else {
// Fallback
}
// ✅ Using @supports in CSS
@supports (display: grid) {
.container {
display: grid;
}
}
@supports not (display: grid) {
.container {
display: flex;
}
}
```
### Polyfills (when needed)
Prefer **bundling polyfills at build time** (Babel/SWC + `core-js`, or `@vitejs/plugin-legacy`) targeted by your supported-browsers list. This eliminates the runtime check entirely and avoids shipping polyfill bytes to modern browsers.
If you must load a polyfill at runtime, append a script element — never use `document.write` (it blocks the parser and is broken in async/deferred contexts):
```html
```
**Never load polyfills from a third-party CDN you don't control.** The `polyfill.io` service was [compromised in mid-2024](https://sansec.io/research/polyfill-supply-chain-attack) in a supply-chain attack and used to serve malware to ~100k sites. Self-host, or use a vetted mirror (e.g. [Cloudflare's `cdnjs` polyfill build](https://blog.cloudflare.com/polyfill-io-now-available-on-cdnjs-reduce-your-supply-chain-risk/)) — and pin the version with [Subresource Integrity](#subresource-integrity-sri-for-third-party-scripts).
---
## Deprecated APIs
### Avoid these
```javascript
// ❌ document.write (blocks parsing)
document.write('');
// ✅ Dynamic script loading
const script = document.createElement('script');
script.src = '...';
document.head.appendChild(script);
// ❌ Synchronous XHR (blocks main thread)
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.open('GET', url, false); // false = synchronous
// ✅ Async fetch
const response = await fetch(url);
// ❌ Application Cache (deprecated)
// ✅ Service Workers
if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
navigator.serviceWorker.register('/sw.js');
}
```
### Event listener passive
```javascript
// ❌ Non-passive touch/wheel (may block scrolling)
element.addEventListener('touchstart', handler);
element.addEventListener('wheel', handler);
// ✅ Passive listeners (allows smooth scrolling)
element.addEventListener('touchstart', handler, { passive: true });
element.addEventListener('wheel', handler, { passive: true });
// ✅ If you need preventDefault, be explicit
element.addEventListener('touchstart', handler, { passive: false });
```
---
## Console & errors
### No console errors
```javascript
// ❌ Errors in production
console.log('Debug info'); // Remove in production
throw new Error('Unhandled'); // Catch all errors
// ✅ Proper error handling
try {
riskyOperation();
} catch (error) {
// Log to error tracking service
errorTracker.captureException(error);
// Show user-friendly message
showErrorMessage('Something went wrong. Please try again.');
}
```
### Error boundaries (React)
```jsx
class ErrorBoundary extends React.Component {
state = { hasError: false };
static getDerivedStateFromError(error) {
return { hasError: true };
}
componentDidCatch(error, info) {
errorTracker.captureException(error, { extra: info });
}
render() {
if (this.state.hasError) {
return ;
}
return this.props.children;
}
}
// Usage
```
### Global error handler
```javascript
// Catch unhandled errors
window.addEventListener('error', (event) => {
errorTracker.captureException(event.error);
});
// Catch unhandled promise rejections
window.addEventListener('unhandledrejection', (event) => {
errorTracker.captureException(event.reason);
});
```
---
## Source maps
### Production configuration
```javascript
// ❌ Source maps exposed in production
// webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
devtool: 'source-map', // Exposes source code
};
// ✅ Hidden source maps (uploaded to error tracker)
module.exports = {
devtool: 'hidden-source-map',
};
// ✅ Or no source maps in production
module.exports = {
devtool: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? false : 'source-map',
};
```
**Strip `sourcesContent` from production maps** when uploading to your error tracker. By default, bundlers embed the full original source inside the `.map` file — anyone who obtains the map (including via a misconfigured upload step) gets your unminified code. Configure your bundler to omit `sourcesContent`, or use a Sentry/Bugsnag CLI flag that does so when uploading.
For Vite, prefer `sourcemap: 'hidden'` over `'true'` so the `//# sourceMappingURL=` comment isn't emitted into the bundle.
---
## Performance best practices
### Avoid blocking patterns
```javascript
// ❌ Blocking script
// ✅ Deferred script
// ❌ Blocking CSS import
@import url('other-styles.css');
// ✅ Link tags (parallel loading)
```
### Efficient event handlers
```javascript
// ❌ Handler on every element
items.forEach(item => {
item.addEventListener('click', handleClick);
});
// ✅ Event delegation
container.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
if (e.target.matches('.item')) {
handleClick(e);
}
});
```
### Memory management
```javascript
// ❌ Memory leak (never removed)
const handler = () => { /* ... */ };
window.addEventListener('resize', handler);
// ✅ Cleanup when done
const handler = () => { /* ... */ };
window.addEventListener('resize', handler);
// Later, when component unmounts:
window.removeEventListener('resize', handler);
// ✅ Using AbortController
const controller = new AbortController();
window.addEventListener('resize', handler, { signal: controller.signal });
// Cleanup:
controller.abort();
```
---
## Code quality
### Valid HTML
```html
