What does 'minification' refer to in web development?

Minification in web development refers specifically to the process of removing unnecessary characters from code, such as whitespace, comments, and other extraneous elements, without affecting its functionality. This technique is often applied to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to decrease their file size, which in turn leads to faster load times for web pages. By reducing the amount of data that needs to be transferred over the network, minification can significantly improve the performance of a website, especially on lower-bandwidth connections.

This process not only enhances loading speed but also contributes to a better user experience and can positively impact search engine optimization. While optimizing images, compressing web servers, and creating responsive designs are important practices in web development, they focus on different aspects of performance and user interface, rather than the specific task of minimizing code size. Thus, the correct answer captures the essence of minification's role in improving web performance through code optimization.