A method and system for encoding a mark-up language document is provided, in which, the structure of the mark-up language document is condensed by removing those parts of the structure that are fixed, and by expressing the variable parts of the structure in terms of whether or how often they occur. A template that specifies which parts of the structure are fixed and which parts are variable may be provided to both the device that is transmitting the mark-up language document and the device that is receiving the mark-up language document.