Browser Prerendering via Hidden Instances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current high-speed Internet services still result in delays when users navigate to new web pages, leading to lost productivity due to the time spent waiting for content to load.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that predicts user navigation events and prerenders associated content in a hidden application instance, minimizing the delay by displaying the prerendered content instantly when selected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If content is prerendered in advance, then user waiting time is reduced, but system resources (bandwidth, processing power) are consumed before user actually needs the content
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by prerendering predicted web pages in advance before the user actually requests them. The browser predicts which pages the user is likely to navigate to next and begins rendering those pages in the background, so when the user does navigate there, the content is already prepared and can be displayed instantly without waiting for network retrieval and rendering.
Solution Approach 2:
The prerendering system is dynamic in that it continuously monitors user navigation patterns and adjusts predictions in real-time. The browser uses machine learning algorithms to analyze the user's browsing behavior, update probability models for next-page prediction, and dynamically decide which pages to prerender based on current context and predicted likelihood of navigation, optimizing resource usage based on actual user behavior.
2Productivity
If all navigation events are prerendered, then user experience is maximized, but unnecessary content consumes bandwidth and processing resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by differentiating between different types of web pages and navigation events. Instead of uniformly prerendering all possible pages, the browser assigns different prerendering priorities based on the predicted likelihood of navigation, the importance of the page content, and current system resources. High-probability navigation targets receive full prerendering treatment, while lower-probability pages may receive partial prerendering or be excluded entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses partial action by selectively prerendering only the most likely next navigation targets rather than all possible pages. The browser predicts the top N most probable next pages and prerenders only those, accepting that some prerendering opportunities may be missed in exchange for conserving bandwidth and processing resources. This partial approach balances resource consumption with user experience improvement.
3Loss of time
If prerendering is implemented, then page load delay is minimized, but device complexity increases due to prediction algorithms and hidden application instances
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates simplified copies of the browser environment called hidden application instances. These are lightweight, isolated rendering contexts that can load and render web pages without being visible to the user. The copying approach allows the main browser instance to remain simple while offloading the complex prerendering operations to these isolated copies, which can be created, managed, and destroyed as needed without affecting the user-facing browser complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method and system for prerendering web content are described. A computing device determines a navigation event within a web browser based at least in part on a prerender tag embedded within a web page. The prerender tag includes a ranking value used to rank links to prerender and a time parameter. The computing device requests content associated with the navigation event and prerenders the content associated with the navigation event in an alternate instance of the web browser that is hidden from a user of the web browser. The computing device determines whether the user has selected the navigation event within a time period based on the time parameter associated with the prerender tag. The alternate instance of the web browser containing the prerendered content in a current user instance of the web browser may be displayed. The computing device may discard the prerendered content.