Performance

Web performance is not a technical metric — it is a product quality signal. A slow page communicates something to the user before a single word is read. Speed is the first impression.

What Performance Actually Measures

Core Web Vitals give structure to what "fast" means: Largest Contentful Paint (how quickly the page becomes readable), Cumulative Layout Shift (how stable the layout is during load), and Interaction to Next Paint (how responsive the interface feels under interaction). Each maps to a user experience, not a number.

The Common Causes of Slowness

Most performance problems fall into a few categories: oversized assets (images that were never compressed, fonts that load everything), too much JavaScript (code that runs before anything renders), and poor loading strategies (fetching things in sequence that could be parallel).

"Performance problems are rarely mysterious. They are usually the result of optimisation being skipped during development."

Image Optimisation

Images are the single largest source of unnecessary bytes on most websites. Serving the right size for the device, using modern formats like WebP and AVIF, and lazy-loading images below the fold together can cut page weight by 60–80% with no visible quality loss.

JavaScript Budget

Every kilobyte of JavaScript has a cost beyond download: parsing, compilation, and execution. A strict bundle budget — set per route, not globally — forces the right conversations about what belongs in the critical path and what can load later.

Conclusion

Performance work has a clear return on investment. Faster pages convert better, rank better, and cost less to run. It is one of the few technical investments that pays the business directly.