Website performance: Speed tips that actually move the needle

Slow pages lose visitors and sales - a one second delay can cut conversions. Fixing performance is often cheaper than ads and feels better.

Start by measuring, not guessing. Run Lighthouse or WebPageTest to get a baseline and note Core Web Vitals scores. Track Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift.

Optimize images first. Use WebP or AVIF, serve scaled images for each viewport, and enable lazy loading for below-the-fold media.

Keep JavaScript lean. Split code, remove dead libraries, and avoid blocking the main thread with long scripts. Use defer or async, and prioritize critical rendering CSS.

Use caching and a CDN. Set long cache headers for static assets and purge smartly after deploys.

Compress everything. Enable gzip or brotli on the server and use modern HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 to reduce round trips.

Mind fonts and third parties. Self-host key fonts or use font-display:swap to avoid invisible text; audit analytics and tag managers that slow startups.

Set a performance budget. Decide acceptable limits for total page size, number of requests, and JS execution time, then block pushes that exceed them.

Measure real users. Use RUM tools to collect field data so you know where real visitors struggle instead of relying only on lab runs.

Prioritize perceived speed. Show content quickly: skeleton screens, preloading hero images, and using preconnect for third party origins make pages feel faster even before metrics catch up.

Small wins add up. Replacing a heavy library, trimming a slider, or serving one optimized hero image often shaves hundreds of milliseconds.

Quick checklist

Measure with Lighthouse and WebPageTest.

Compress images and serve WebP/AVIF.

Defer noncritical JS and split bundles.

Enable CDN, caching, and brotli.

Set a simple performance budget and track RUM.

Tools that help

Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse, WebPageTest, SpeedCurve, and a lightweight RUM like Boomerang or Google Analytics. Run lab tests, then validate with field data after changes.

Pick one of the checklist items and fix it today - you will see impact fast.

Example: image optimization. Start with measuring current LCP, export the hero image, convert it to AVIF and WebP, create responsive sizes, and serve with srcset. Test in Chrome mobile emulation and on WebPageTest to confirm LCP drops.

Server tweaks. Set keepalive, tune TLS session reuse, and use a lightweight web server like nginx or Caddy for static assets. If using a backend framework, enable response compression and cache API responses where safe.

Third-party management. Load nonessential tags after interactive, use tag manager triggers, and block slow vendors. Even removing one heavy analytics pixel can cut startup time significantly.

Make it a habit. Add performance checks to your CI, fail builds that exceed budgets, and celebrate small wins with the team. Performance improves conversions, saves bandwidth, and makes maintenance easier.

If you want, pick one metric to improve each sprint and measure the business impact after three sprints. Start small, move fast, and keep tracking real users for steady wins. You'll thank yourself later.