Performance and Optimization | Website Speed Guide

Optimize your site for speed and excellent user experience.

Performance Metrics#

Key Metrics#

Load Time:

  • How long until site fully loads
  • Affects user experience
  • SEO ranking impact
  • Target: Under 2 seconds

Page Size:

  • Total file size downloaded
  • Affects load speed
  • Mobile data consideration
  • Typical range: 1-5 MB

Requests:

  • Number of files loaded
  • Affects performance
  • Network dependency
  • Fewer is better

Bandwidth:

  • Data transferred to users
  • Monthly consumption
  • Can affect costs
  • Monitor for spikes

Viewing Performance Metrics#

In Site Details#

  1. Open Site Details
  2. Go to Performance tab
  3. See:
    • Load time
    • Page size
    • Number of requests
    • Bandwidth used
    • Top slow pages

Monitoring Over Time#

Check performance trends:

  1. Compare week over week
  2. Monitor after deployments
  3. Check during peak traffic
  4. Identify patterns

Global CDN Advantages#

How CDN Works#

  1. Edge servers worldwide
  2. User requests served locally
  3. Closest server responds
  4. Lightning-fast delivery
  5. Automatic fallback

CDN Benefits#

✓ Speed - Content from nearest location
✓ Reliability - Multiple servers worldwide
✓ Scalability - Handles traffic spikes
✓ Bandwidth savings - Distributed load
✓ Latency reduction - Closer servers

Regions Served#

Nife CDN has servers in:

  • North America
  • South America
  • Europe
  • Asia
  • Australia
  • Africa

Optimization Techniques#

1. Image Optimization#

Images are largest files on most sites.

Techniques:

  • Compress before uploading
  • Use WebP format when possible
  • Resize to display size
  • Use image services for responsive images

Tools:

  • TinyPNG - Image compression
  • ImageOptim - Mac compression
  • FileZilla - Bulk optimization
  • Online tools - Kraken, Compressor

Expected results:

  • 50-80% size reduction
  • No visible quality loss
  • Faster page loads

2. Code Minification#

Reduce file size of CSS and JavaScript.

What it does:

  • Removes unnecessary characters
  • Shortens variable names
  • Removes comments
  • Compresses code

Usually automatic with:

  • React build: npm run build
  • Vue build: npm run build
  • Angular build: ng build --prod

Expected results:

  • 40-60% smaller files
  • Faster downloads
  • No functionality change

3. Gzip Compression#

Browser and server compression.

How it works:

  • Server compresses files
  • Browser decompresses
  • Transparent to users
  • Already enabled on Nife

Expected results:

  • 70-80% compression
  • Very fast delivery
  • Works on all modern browsers

4. Lazy Loading#

Delay loading images until needed.

How it works:

  • Images load as user scrolls
  • Only visible images load
  • Improves initial load time
  • Better mobile experience

Implementation:

<img src="photo.jpg" loading="lazy">

Expected results:

  • Faster initial page load
  • Reduced bandwidth
  • Better mobile performance

5. Caching Strategy#

Browser and CDN caching.

Browser Cache:

  • CSS, JS cached locally
  • Images cached on device
  • Subsequent loads instant
  • Automatic on all browsers

CDN Cache:

  • Content served from nearest location
  • Reduces origin requests
  • Global distribution
  • Automatic on Nife

Expected results:

  • Instant subsequent visits
  • Reduced bandwidth
  • Better user experience

6. CSS and JavaScript Bundling#

Combine multiple files into fewer files.

Bundling:

  • Multiple CSS → One file
  • Multiple JS → One file
  • Fewer HTTP requests
  • Faster overall load

Tools:

  • Webpack - Bundler
  • Vite - Build tool
  • Esbuild - Fast bundler
  • Parcel - Zero config

Expected results:

  • 30-50% faster load time
  • Fewer server requests

Performance Best Practices#

Before Deployment#

✓ Optimize images - Compress thoroughly
✓ Minify code - Remove unnecessary bytes
✓ Bundle files - Combine where possible
✓ Enable compression - Gzip or Brotli
✓ Lazy load - Defer non-critical assets
✓ Remove unused code - Trim dependencies

During Development#

✓ Use performance tools - Lighthouse, WebPageTest
✓ Monitor bundle size - Track JS size
✓ Test on slow networks - 3G/4G simulation
✓ Mobile first - Design for mobile
✓ Optimize fonts - Use system fonts when possible

Monitoring#

✓ Check metrics regularly - Weekly or monthly
✓ Monitor after updates - After deploying new versions
✓ Set performance budget - Target file sizes
✓ Alert on regressions - If performance drops

Performance Testing Tools#

Lighthouse (Free)#

Built into Chrome browser:

  1. Open DevTools (F12)
  2. Go to Lighthouse
  3. Click Analyze
  4. Get score and suggestions

WebPageTest (Free)#

Test from multiple locations:

  1. Go to webpagetest.org
  2. Enter your URL
  3. Choose location
  4. Get detailed breakdown

GTmetrix (Free)#

Website speed analysis:

  1. Go to gtmetrix.com
  2. Enter URL
  3. Get PageSpeed and YSlow scores
  4. See optimization suggestions

Pingdom (Free)#

Website monitoring:

  1. Go to pingdom.com
  2. Enter your URL
  3. Get load time and breakdown
  4. Monitor over time

Mobile Optimization#

Mobile Performance#

Mobile users need:

  • Faster load times
  • Smaller file sizes
  • Responsive design
  • Touch-friendly interface

Mobile Optimization Tips#

✓ Responsive design - Works on all sizes
✓ Mobile images - Smaller on mobile
✓ Touchable buttons - At least 44x44 pixels
✓ Fast transitions - Smooth animations
✓ Avoid pop-ups - Annoying on mobile
✓ Readable text - At least 16px

Test on Mobile#

  1. Use Chrome DevTools
  2. Device mode (toggle in F12)
  3. Test all interactions
  4. Check load times
  5. Verify responsive

SEO and Performance#

Google's Core Web Vitals#

Google measures:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):

  • Time until largest content loads
  • Target: < 2.5 seconds

First Input Delay (FID):

  • Response time to user input
  • Target: < 100 milliseconds

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):

  • Visual stability
  • Target: < 0.1

Impact on Rankings#

  • Good Core Web Vitals → Better rankings
  • Poor metrics → Ranking penalty
  • Mobile-first indexing → Mobile performance matters
  • Performance = SEO

Monitoring Performance Trends#

Weekly Check#

  1. Run Lighthouse audit
  2. Note load time
  3. Compare with previous week
  4. Track trends

Monthly Review#

  1. Analyze performance metrics
  2. Check top slow pages
  3. Optimize underperforming pages
  4. Review CDN analytics

Quarterly Assessment#

  1. Full performance audit
  2. Compare with competitors
  3. Plan optimizations
  4. Set new targets

Common Performance Issues#

Issue: Large JavaScript Bundle#

Symptoms:

  • Slow initial load
  • High JS file size
  • Long build time

Solutions:

  • Code splitting - Load only needed code
  • Tree shaking - Remove unused code
  • Lazy loading - Load on demand
  • Lighter libraries - Choose smaller alternatives

Issue: Large Images#

Symptoms:

  • Slow load times
  • High bandwidth usage
  • Mobile performance poor

Solutions:

  • Compress images
  • Use modern formats (WebP)
  • Responsive images
  • Lazy load images

Issue: Too Many HTTP Requests#

Symptoms:

  • Many small files
  • Slow load time despite small total size
  • High number of requests

Solutions:

  • Bundle CSS files
  • Combine JavaScript
  • Use CSS sprites for icons
  • Inline critical CSS

Issue: Slow First Page Load#

Symptoms:

  • Blank page initially
  • Long wait time
  • Poor Core Web Vitals

Solutions:

  • Server-side rendering
  • Pre-loading critical assets
  • Minification
  • Compression

Performance Checklist#

Before launching:

  • Images optimized
  • Code minified
  • Gzip enabled
  • Lazy loading implemented
  • Caching configured
  • Bundle size acceptable
  • Mobile responsive
  • Load time < 3 seconds
  • Lighthouse score > 90
  • No broken links

Related Topics#