Website performance starts with the content.
Make asset and publishing decisions before launch.
All perspectives · · 1 min read
Set the asset rules early.
Define image sizes, formats and quality targets before the content library grows. Include photography, product images and editorial illustrations. Optimize assets before adding them to pages, and keep the original masters outside the public delivery path.
The goal is clear imagery at the size it will actually be displayed. Sending a large original to every visitor creates work for the network without necessarily improving the visible result.
Give mobile its own composition.
A smaller file is not always a usable mobile image. Check the subject, text clearance and focal point in a narrow crop. A dedicated composition may be needed when the desktop artwork depends on wide negative space.
Responsive image candidates allow the browser to select an appropriate resource for the display. web.dev explains how this improves the match between delivered image dimensions and the device.
Review the page as a sequence.
Prioritize the hero and delay distant assets until they are needed. Check the cost of video, interactive galleries and animation, including what happens when the visitor prefers reduced motion.
Test with real content on more than one viewport. Review image decoding, layout movement, broken assets and interactions together; a small file is not a successful optimization if the page no longer communicates clearly.
Further reading.
Put the brief into practice.
Digital product development · Discuss the work your business needs to do.