Why Web Performance Is a Business Decision

Web performance is one of the most underestimated competitive advantages available to any business with an online presence.

The Numbers Are Clear

Google's research shows that as page load time goes from one second to five seconds, the probability of a mobile user bouncing increases by 90%. For every 100ms improvement in load time, Walmart saw a 1% increase in revenue. These are not theoretical figures — they are the result of measuring real user behaviour at scale.

How We Think About Performance

On every project, we break performance into three phases:

1. Perception — What does the user see first? We prioritise getting meaningful content on screen within the first 1.5 seconds. This means inlining critical CSS, preloading hero assets, and deferring everything else.

2. Interaction — How quickly can the user do something? Total Blocking Time (TBT) matters more than most metrics. A page that looks loaded but can't be interacted with is still a broken experience.

3. Continuity — Does the experience hold up? Layout shifts after images load, fonts swapping in, modals jumping content — these erode trust even when users don't consciously notice them.

Practical Decisions

On a recent client project, a single decision — switching from a third-party script-loaded font to a self-hosted subset — cut First Contentful Paint by 400ms on mobile. No framework changes, no infrastructure work.

Performance is a design constraint, not a finishing step. The earlier it enters the conversation, the cheaper it is to get right.