Web Performance Optimization

Web Performance Optimization

Detailed Guide

Read the detailed guide before executing this skill. It retains the complete procedure and reference material. Treat its safety, prerequisites, and validation requirements as mandatory. For focused work, load the relevant sections; for end-to-end work, read the guide completely.

When to Use This Skill

• Use when website or app is loading slowly
• Use when optimizing for Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)
• Use when reducing JavaScript bundle size
• Use when reducing main-thread blocking and slow interactions (INP)
• Use when optimizing images and assets
• Use when implementing caching strategies
• Use when debugging performance bottlenecks
• Use when preparing for performance audits

Examples below are hypothetical teaching scenarios, not measured results or guaranteed savings. Measure comparable builds/devices/networks and field distributions; do not infer INP from bundle bytes alone. Pin project-compatible tools before installs; preserve originals and review dependency/API changes.

Examples

Example 1: Optimizing Core Web Vitals

## Performance Audit Results

### Current Metrics (Before Optimization)
- **LCP (Largest Contentful Paint):** 4.2s ❌ (should be < 2.5s)
- **INP (Interaction to Next Paint):** 350ms ❌ (should be ≤ 200ms)
- **CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift):** 0.25 ❌ (should be < 0.1)
- **Lighthouse Score:** 62/100

### Issues Identified

1. **LCP Issue:** Hero image (2.5MB) loads slowly
2. **INP Issue:** Large JavaScript bundle (850KB) blocks main thread
3. **CLS Issue:** Images without dimensions cause layout shifts

### Optimization Plan

#### Fix LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

**Problem:** Hero image is 2.5MB and loads slowly

**Solutions:**
\`\`\`html
<!-- Before: Unoptimized image -->
<img src="/hero.jpg" alt="Hero">

<!-- After: Optimized with modern formats -->
<picture>
  <source srcset="/hero.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="/hero.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img 
    src="/hero.jpg" 
    alt="Hero"
    width="1200" 
    height="600"
    loading="eager"
    fetchpriority="high"
  >
</picture>
\`\`\`

**Additional optimizations:**
- Compress image to < 200KB
- Use CDN for faster delivery
- Preload hero image: `<link rel="preload" as="image" href="/hero.avif">`

#### Fix INP (Interaction to Next Paint)

**Problem:** 850KB JavaScript bundle blocks main thread

**Solutions:**

1. **Code Splitting:**
\`\`\`javascript
// Before: Everything in one bundle
import { HeavyComponent } from './HeavyComponent';
import { Analytics } from './analytics';
import { ChatWidget } from './chat';

// After: Lazy load non-critical code
const HeavyComponent = lazy(() => import('./HeavyComponent'));
const ChatWidget = lazy(() => import('./chat'));

// Load analytics after page interactive
if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
  window.addEventListener('load', () => {
    import('./analytics').then(({ Analytics }) => {
      Analytics.init();
    });
  });
}
\`\`\`

2. **Remove Unused Dependencies:**
\`\`\`bash
# Analyze bundle
npx webpack-bundle-analyzer

# Remove unused packages
npm uninstall moment  # Use date-fns instead (smaller)
npm install date-fns
\`\`\`

3. **Defer Non-Critical Scripts:**
\`\`\`html
<!-- Before: Blocks rendering -->
<script src="/analytics.js"></script>

<!-- After: Deferred -->
<script src="/analytics.js" defer></script>
\`\`\`

#### Fix CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

**Problem:** Images without dimensions cause layout shifts

**Solutions:**
\`\`\`html
<!-- Before: No dimensions -->
<img src="/product.jpg" alt="Product">

<!-- After: With dimensions -->
<img 
  src="/product.jpg" 
  alt="Product"
  width="400" 
  height="300"
  style="aspect-ratio: 4/3;"
>
\`\`\`

**For dynamic content:**
\`\`\`css
/* Reserve space for content that loads later */
.skeleton-loader {
  min-height: 200px;
  background: linear-gradient(90deg, #f0f0f0 25%, #e0e0e0 50%, #f0f0f0 75%);
  background-size: 200% 100%;
  animation: loading 1.5s infinite;
}

@keyframes loading {
  0% { background-position: 200% 0; }
  100% { background-position: -200% 0; }
}
\`\`\`

### Results After Optimization

- **LCP:** 1.8s ✅ (improved by 57%)
- **INP:** 150ms ✅ (improved by 57%)
- **CLS:** 0.05 ✅ (improved by 80%)
- **Lighthouse Score:** 94/100 ✅

Example 2: Reducing JavaScript Bundle Size

## Bundle Size Optimization

### Current State
- **Total Bundle:** 850KB (gzipped: 280KB)
- **Main Bundle:** 650KB
- **Vendor Bundle:** 200KB
- **Load Time (3G):** 8.2s

### Analysis

\`\`\`bash
# Analyze bundle composition
npx webpack-bundle-analyzer dist/stats.json
\`\`\`

**Findings:**
1. Moment.js: 67KB (can replace with date-fns: 12KB)
2. Lodash: 72KB (using entire library, only need 5 functions)
3. Unused code: ~150KB of dead code
4. No code splitting: Everything in one bundle

### Optimization Steps

#### 1. Replace Heavy Dependencies

\`\`\`bash
# Remove moment.js (67KB) → Use date-fns (12KB)
npm uninstall moment
npm install date-fns

# Before
import moment from 'moment';
const formatted = moment(date).format('YYYY-MM-DD');

# After
import { format } from 'date-fns';
const formatted = format(date, 'yyyy-MM-dd');
\`\`\`

**Savings:** 55KB

#### 2. Use Lodash Selectively

\`\`\`javascript
// Before: Import entire library (72KB)
import _ from 'lodash';
const unique = _.uniq(array);

// After: Import only what you need (5KB)
import uniq from 'lodash/uniq';
const unique = uniq(array);

// Or use native methods
const unique = [...new Set(array)];
\`\`\`

**Savings:** 67KB

#### 3. Implement Code Splitting

\`\`\`javascript
// Next.js example
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic';

// Lazy load heavy components
const Chart = dynamic(() => import('./Chart'), {
  loading: () => <div>Loading chart...</div>,
  ssr: false
});

const AdminPanel = dynamic(() => import('./AdminPanel'), {
  loading: () => <div>Loading...</div>
});

// Route-based code splitting (automatic in Next.js)
// pages/admin.js - Only loaded when visiting /admin
// pages/dashboard.js - Only loaded when visiting /dashboard
\`\`\`

#### 4. Remove Dead Code

\`\`\`javascript
// Tree shaking in webpack.config.js: production mode already enables
// optimization.usedExports and optimization.sideEffects.
// Do not set optimization.sideEffects to false: that turns the optimization off.
module.exports = {
  mode: 'production'
};

// In package.json: mark modules as side-effect-free, but list the files
// that must run when imported (CSS, polyfills). A blanket
// "sideEffects": false lets the bundler drop `import './styles.css'`.
{
  "sideEffects": ["*.css", "*.scss", "./src/polyfills.js"]
}
\`\`\`

#### 5. Optimize Third-Party Scripts

\`\`\`html
<!-- Before: Loads immediately -->
<script src="https://analytics.example/script.js"></script>

<!-- After: Load after page interactive -->
<script>
  window.addEventListener('load', () => {
    const script = document.createElement('script');
    script.src = 'https://analytics.example/script.js';
    script.async = true;
    document.body.appendChild(script);
  });
</script>
\`\`\`

### Results

- **Total Bundle:** 380KB ✅ (reduced by 55%)
- **Main Bundle:** 180KB ✅
- **Vendor Bundle:** 80KB ✅
- **Load Time (3G):** 3.1s ✅ (improved by 62%)

Example 3: Image Optimization Strategy

## Image Optimization

### Current Issues
- 15 images totaling 12MB
- No modern formats (WebP, AVIF)
- No responsive images
- No lazy loading

### Optimization Strategy

#### 1. Convert to Modern Formats

\`\`\`bash
# Install image optimization tools
npm install sharp

# Conversion script (optimize-images.js)
const sharp = require('sharp');
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

async function optimizeImage(inputPath, outputDir) {
  const filename = path.basename(inputPath, path.extname(inputPath));
  
  // Generate WebP
  await sharp(inputPath)
    .webp({ quality: 80 })
    .toFile(path.join(outputDir, \`\${filename}.webp\`));
  
  // Generate AVIF (best compression)
  await sharp(inputPath)
    .avif({ quality: 70 })
    .toFile(path.join(outputDir, \`\${filename}.avif\`));
  
  // Generate optimized JPEG fallback
  await sharp(inputPath)
    .jpeg({ quality: 80, progressive: true })
    .toFile(path.join(outputDir, \`\${filename}.jpg\`));
}

// Process all images
fs.mkdirSync('./images/optimized', { recursive: true });
async function main() {
  const images = fs.readdirSync('./images', { withFileTypes: true });
  for (const entry of images) {
    if (entry.isFile() && /\.(png|jpe?g|webp)$/i.test(entry.name)) {
      await optimizeImage(path.join('./images', entry.name), './images/optimized');
    }
  }
}
main().catch(error => { console.error(error.message); process.exitCode = 1; });
\`\`\`

#### 2. Implement Responsive Images

\`\`\`html
<!-- Responsive images with modern formats -->
<picture>
  <!-- AVIF for browsers that support it (best compression) -->
  <source 
    srcset="
      /images/hero-400.avif 400w,
      /images/hero-800.avif 800w,
      /images/hero-1200.avif 1200w
    "
    type="image/avif"
    sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw"
  >
  
  <!-- WebP for browsers that support it -->
  <source 
    srcset="
      /images/hero-400.webp 400w,
      /images/hero-800.webp 800w,
      /images/hero-1200.webp 1200w
    "
    type="image/webp"
    sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw"
  >
  
  <!-- JPEG fallback -->
  <img 
    src="/images/hero-800.jpg"
    srcset="
      /images/hero-400.jpg 400w,
      /images/hero-800.jpg 800w,
      /images/hero-1200.jpg 1200w
    "
    sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw"
    alt="Hero image"
    width="1200"
    height="600"
    fetchpriority="high"
  >
</picture>
\`\`\`

#### 3. Lazy Loading

\`\`\`html
<!-- Native lazy loading -->
<img 
  src="/image.jpg" 
  alt="Description"
  loading="lazy"
  width="800"
  height="600"
>

<!-- Eager loading for above-the-fold images -->
<img 
  src="/hero.jpg" 
  alt="Hero"
  loading="eager"
  fetchpriority="high"
>
\`\`\`

#### 4. Next.js Image Component

\`\`\`javascript
import Image from 'next/image';

// Automatic optimization
<Image
  src="/hero.jpg"
  alt="Hero"
  width={1200}
  height={600}
  priority  // For above-the-fold images
  quality={80}
/>

// Lazy loaded
<Image
  src="/product.jpg"
  alt="Product"
  width={400}
  height={300}
  loading="lazy"
/>
\`\`\`

### Results

| Metric | Before | After | Improvement |
|--------|--------|-------|-------------|
| Total Image Size | 12MB | 1.8MB | 85% reduction |
| LCP | 4.5s | 1.6s | 64% faster |
| Page Load (3G) | 18s | 4.2s | 77% faster |

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.