diff --git a/src/app/browser.coffee b/src/app/browser.coffee
index b0f6300a6b..6042821d90 100644
--- a/src/app/browser.coffee
+++ b/src/app/browser.coffee
@@ -10,41 +10,27 @@ restoreRefs = module.exports.restoreRefs = (model) ->
 
 ###
   Loads JavaScript files from (1) public/js/* and (2) external sources
-  We use this file (instead of <Scripts:> or <Tail:> inside .html) so we can utilize require() to concatinate for
-  faster page load, and $.getScript for asyncronous external script loading
+  If a library is available in a CDN, we put it in <Scripts:> (index.html) for better caching. If not, we use
+  this function to utilize require() to concatinate for faster page load, and $.getScript for asyncronous external script loading
 ###
 loadJavaScripts = (model) ->
 
-  require '../../public/vendor/jquery-ui/jquery-1.9.1'
   unless model.get('_view.mobileDevice')
     require '../../public/vendor/jquery-ui/ui/jquery.ui.core'
     require '../../public/vendor/jquery-ui/ui/jquery.ui.widget'
     require '../../public/vendor/jquery-ui/ui/jquery.ui.mouse'
     require '../../public/vendor/jquery-ui/ui/jquery.ui.sortable'
 
-  # Bootstrap
-  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap/docs/assets/js/bootstrap'
-#  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap-tooltip'
-#  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap-tab'
-#  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap-popover'
-#  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap-modal'
-#  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap-dropdown'
-
-
-  require '../../public/vendor/jquery-cookie/jquery.cookie'
   require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap-tour/bootstrap-tour'
-  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap-datepicker/js/bootstrap-datepicker'
-  require '../../public/vendor/bootstrap-growl/jquery.bootstrap-growl.min'
-
 
   # JS files not needed right away (google charts) or entirely optional (analytics)
   # Each file getsload asyncronously via $.getScript, so it doesn't bog page-load
   unless model.get('_view.mobileDevice')
 
-    $.getScript("https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=lefnire");
+    $.getScript("//s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=lefnire");
 
     # Google Charts
-    $.getScript "https://www.google.com/jsapi", ->
+    $.getScript "//www.google.com/jsapi", ->
       # Specifying callback in options param is vital! Otherwise you get blank screen, see http://stackoverflow.com/a/12200566/362790
       google.load "visualization", "1", {packages:["corechart"], callback: ->}
 
diff --git a/views/app/index.html b/views/app/index.html
index 3f3a318cfa..d826d011ee 100644
--- a/views/app/index.html
+++ b/views/app/index.html
@@ -43,8 +43,17 @@
   <app:footer:footer />
 
 <Scripts:>
-    <!-- scripts go in /src/app/browser.coffee, that way we can get min/concat -->
-    <!-- only the ones that are remote and can't be done async are here -->
+    <!-- we load as many CDN-available javascript files here as possible. For the rest,
+        we use /src/app/browser.coffee -> loadJavaScripts() which concats/minifies /public/vendor javascript libraries,
+        as well as runs async loads -->
+
+    <script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
+    <script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery-cookie/1.3.1/jquery.cookie.min.js"></script>
+
+    <script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twitter-bootstrap/2.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
+    <script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bootstrap-growl/1.0.0/jquery.bootstrap-growl.min.js"></script>
+    <script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bootstrap-datepicker/1.0.0/js/bootstrap-datepicker.min.js"></script>
+
     <script src="https://checkout.stripe.com/v2/checkout.js"></script>
 
     {#if equal(_view.nodeEnv,"production")}