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tech 1 min read February 20, 2024

Web Performance Basics

5 rules every developer should know

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By Patrick Stuart

2024-02-20

Page speed affects everything: SEO, conversions, bounce rates, and user satisfaction. Yet many developers still ship slow sites.

Here are the ten rules we follow on every web project:

1. Measure Before Optimizing

You can't improve what you don't measure. Start with:

  • Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS)
  • Bundle size analysis
  • Request waterfall

2. Optimize Images

  • Use WebP or AVIF format
  • Implement responsive images with srcset
  • Lazy load below-the-fold images

3. Minify and Bundle

  • Remove dead code
  • Code-split by route
  • Use tree-shaking

4. Leverage Caching

  • Set appropriate cache headers
  • Use service workers for PWAs
  • Implement ETags

5. Critical Path Optimization

  • Inline critical CSS
  • Defer non-critical JS
  • Preload key resources

The Result

Apply these ten rules consistently, and you'll have a fast site. Not because you added some "performance optimization" at the end—but because you built performance in from day one.


We apply these rules on every Better Website we build. Ask us how we can make your site faster.

Tags

performanceweboptimization