Images and videos are proven to boost online engagement, prompting many brands to adopt a media-first approach and to improve web performance. E-commerce websites with more media tend to generate higher revenue through increased sales and conversions.
According to a study by the HTTP Archive, 99.9% of websites now include images. Moreover, page sizes have increased by 594% over the past decade. Striking a balance between high-quality visuals and web performance is crucial. Businesses can achieve this balance by optimizing their media content.
Basics First: Why Is Web Performance Important?
Web performance signifies the speed at which pages are downloaded and displayed on a viewer’s browser, encompassing both the overall loading speed and the responsiveness to user interactions.
This aspect is vital for both site visitors and businesses. Slow websites frustrate users, often leading them to abandon the website if it takes extra long to load. Consequently, speed has become a crucial factor in retaining visitors and boosting conversions.
Web performance, along with its best practices, is a key component of user experience, taking into account the user’s device and connection speed and reflecting a site’s overall effectiveness. Improving these speeds is essential. While internet speeds are generally increasing, a significant portion of international users still experience slower speeds than those in the West, making fast-loading pages even more critical.
The State of Modern Web Performance
Modern websites are highly visual, but these visual elements come at a cost. Images and videos consume significant bandwidth and need to accommodate various screen sizes. The more compelling and complex the media, the more data they require, increasing the site’s overall weight. Without web performance optimization, this visual media can lead to performance issues and cause visitors to leave.
Delivering unoptimized media is costly because it slows down page loads, leading to user abandonment. Optimizing your media content is essential for growing business revenue. Studies show that up to 40% of visitors will leave a site if a web page takes more than three seconds to load. In today’s competitive environment, losing page views is not an option.
Also Read: The Business Case for Investing in Web Performance Optimization: 16 Examples
Google Chrome Developments
The Google Chrome development team has introduced several major advancements:
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): The most significant update for Core Web Vitals in 2023 is the rollout of INP, a new responsiveness metric. INP replaced First Input Delay (FID) in March 2024, providing a more comprehensive measure of all interactions during a session rather than just the first one.
• Back/Forward Cache (bfcache): This feature allows users to quickly navigate back or forward in their browsing history without the need to wait for the page to reload. The hit rate for bfcache has improved month-over-month, reaching 3.6% on Android and 1.8% on Desktop.
• PreconnectOnAnchorInteraction: This feature initiates connections to origins on pointer-down rather than pointer-up. This has led to a median Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) improvement of 6-10ms (0.4-1%) on Android and Desktop and a cross-origin LCP improvement of ~60ms. Additionally, it resulted in a 0.08% increase in Content Ad revenue.
• Prerendering Pages: Pages are prerendered to load instantly before the user visits them. This has resulted in a 500-700ms (14-25%) median LCP improvement for pages loaded via typing URLs directly in the omnibox, with a global median LCP improvement of 6.4ms across all navigations.
• Tab Throttling: Background tabs running at EcoQOS on Windows 11 and Task Role and QoS Adjustments on macOS are throttled to keep them out of the way. This has improved both LCP and INP.
• Continuous Optimizations for Multiple Active Tabs: Improvements in scheduling and contention have led to a 5% improvement in INP and a 2% improvement in LCP over the past six months.
• Chrome Renderer Improvements: Adjustments to the priority of task queues, such as high-priority image loading and prioritized compositing after delay, along with SVG raster optimizations, have resulted in increased pass rates for LCP, Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and INP.
What More to Expect in the Forthcoming Years on Web Performance?
1. Core Web Vitals as the Gold Standard
Google’s introduction of Core Web Vitals has highlighted the critical importance of user experience metrics. These metrics—Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)—will not only influence search rankings but will also serve as the benchmark for overall website quality.
2. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are web applications designed to deliver a native app-like experience. They are fast, reliable, and accessible offline. In 2024, PWAs are expected to gain popularity due to their ability to provide a seamless user experience across devices. Additionally, PWAs can enhance web performance by reducing page load times and boosting user engagement.
3. 5G and Enhanced Connectivity
With the global rollout of 5G networks, ultra-fast internet speeds will become standard. Websites will need to be optimized for these speeds, enabling real-time interactivity and immersive experiences to become more common.
4. AI-Powered Performance Optimization
Machine learning and AI will play crucial roles in website optimization. AI algorithms will predict user behavior, pre-load content, and make real-time adjustments to site performance based on user interactions and preferences.
5. Serverless Architectures and Edge Computing
Traditional server-based web hosting will be replaced by serverless architectures, where applications are hosted on cloud platforms. Combined with edge computing, this will allow data processing to occur closer to the user, reducing latency and improving website speed.
6. Adaptive Content Delivery
Future websites will adapt content based on user profiles, device types, and network conditions. This dynamic content delivery will ensure optimal performance and user experience regardless of the accessing environment.
7. WebAssembly (Wasm)
WebAssembly will transform web applications by allowing code written in multiple languages to run at near-native speed. This will enable more powerful web apps, games, and interactive experiences, pushing the boundaries of web capabilities.
8. HTTP/3 and QUIC protocol
Source: Medium
HTTP/3 uses the QUIC protocol, which improves the speed and security of data transmission over the Internet. It reduces connection times and enhances performance, especially on mobile networks.
9. Holistic Security Measures
As cyber threats become more sophisticated, web performance will be closely linked with robust security measures. Comprehensive security strategies, including DDoS protection and advanced encryption, will ensure performance is not compromised by malicious attacks.
10. Sustainable Web Design
The digital carbon footprint is becoming a concern. Future web design practices will focus on optimizing performance while minimizing environmental impact and consumption of energy.
11. JAMstack
Source: Jon D Jones
The term JAMstack, which stands for JavaScript, API, and Markup, signifies a transformative change in web development. Its success is closely tied to modern JavaScript frameworks that enhance performance. Performance is a key factor behind JAMstack’s popularity, as it greatly influences website rankings on search engines like Google. Google’s focus on faster websites and the increasing need for API-driven content management have solidified JAMstack’s importance.
12. AR and VR on the Web
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) events will become mainstream on websites. As these technologies become more accessible, web performance will need to meet the demands of these immersive environments.
13. Decentralized Web (Web3)
The concept of a decentralized internet, or Web3, will gain traction. As decentralized apps (dApps) become more common, web performance metrics will evolve to address the unique challenges and opportunities of a peer-to-peer web.
14. Server-side Rendering (SSR)
Server-side rendering is the method of rendering web pages on the server before they can be forwarded to the client. This reduces the time it takes for a user to see the content and improves SEO, as search engines can crawl the web content more easily.
Final Thoughts
The future of web performance is not just about speed; it’s about crafting seamless, adaptive, and immersive experiences that resonate with users. As we approach 2024 and beyond, keeping up with these trends will be needed for businesses and developers to be at the forefront of the digital landscape.
FAQs
How can I start optimizing my website for future trends?
• Adopt a mobile-first approach: Ensure your site performs well on mobile devices.
• Implement lazy loading: Load content as users need it, not all at once.
• Use modern image formats: Utilize WebP or AVIF for better compression.
• Optimize your server: To optimize your server configurations, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
• Stay updated: Follow the latest web technologies and standards.
How does edge computing improve web performance?
Edge computing reduces latency by processing data closer to the user’s location rather than relying on centralized servers. This results in faster load times and a more responsive web experience.
