Creator Conversations: One Easy Trick to Boost Site Performance by 20%

Why is that website so slow? Measuring performance means factoring in a number of variables.

After providing a primer on Core Web Vitals, our CTO, Ryan Breen, returns to Creator Conversations to share one easy trick that can boost website performance by 20%. 

When reviewing and understanding your site's Core Web Vitals there are a few factors to consider: 

🔥Three Important Factors: 

Factor 1: Google tests websites as if they're a first time visitor

One of the most overlooked and easiest opportunity for optimization is reducing layout shifts. Many sites have unintentionally impacted their web vitals score by 10, 15, 20 percent with seemingly simple tweaks that are just a couple lines of code, just a few changes to some figuration. 

And here's why those changes can cause negative performance. When Google tests, when PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse runs, they're testing as a user who has never visited the - as if they're in an Incognito window. Now what do you see on most sites as a first time visitor? These days, it's almost always a cookie banner. 

Factor 2: Cookie banners can shift an entire page's layout

Cookie banners are simply layout shifts; typically on a lot of frameworks that banner pops down from the top, and maybe takes a second or two before it comes in. That pop down shifts the entire page. You're dinged for an entire page worth of pixels of layout shift. 

Factor 3: Delaying when a cookie banner appears can optimize performance by 20%

Delaying when the cookie banner shows up can increase a website's Core Web Vitals score by 20 points. So you can throw a ton of time and money at network optimizations, load order, and JavaScript minification; however such a simple change can have a major effect on your brand's website. 

That can often be the best strategy to start with. 

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