The essential for your website in 2026: Web Performance
Web performance", also known as "webperf" or "WPO" for "Web Performance Optimization", plays a crucial role in evaluating and monitoring your website's performance. This terminology, although sometimes ambiguous for beginners, is essential for understanding the technical challenges of the web.
Web performance focuses primarily on technical aspects, such as the loading speed and availability of your website's pages, rather than commercial elements such as conversions or RPM. However, it is part of a broader approach to digital performance, which aims to measure the overall effectiveness of a site beyond just technical aspects. It is important to note that, although these areas are distinct, they can sometimes be confused.
Monitoring your website in terms of web performance involves continuous, in-depth evaluation of the technical aspects to ensure optimal user experience and efficient site operation. This includes optimizing page load speed, ensuring constant availability and implementing proactive measures to maintain these high standards.
In 2024, mastering web performance is more than just a competitive advantage; it has become an absolute necessity for any effective online presence.
1- Defining web performance
Web performance, often referred to as "webperf", encompasses all actions aimed at improving the technical performance of a website. Shortened to "WPO" for Web Performance Optimization, this field mainly involves evaluating a site's performance using specialized solutions, then optimizing to speed up page loading and make navigation smoother. Find out why you need to measure web performance.
A high-performance site is defined by its availability and interactivity, offering fast loading and fluid page navigation. These criteria are essential for the user experience. Solid web performance can have a positive impact on SEO, revenue generation and even the site's ecological footprint.
I- SEO optimization
Google integrates web performance into its SEO algorithm. Site loading speed influences the cost of indexing pages. Slowness reduces the number of pages indexed, impacting the site's ranking in search results. Slow ad display also affects SEO.
II- Improving the user experience
Optimum performance ensures fast access for all users, whatever their devices, connections or traffic peaks. Online tools such as simulators, comparators and internal search engines must also run smoothly.
Fast loading times and a pleasant user experience encourage visitors to explore your site. These elements are at the heart of what is known as a seamless digital experience, which is essential for meeting the expectations of modern users.
For e-commerce sites, loading speed is crucial; 67% of shopping cart abandonment is attributed to slow site speed. A satisfying user experience promotes customer loyalty.
III- SXO enhancement
SXO (Search Xperience Optimization) combines SEO and UX (User Experience). It improves SEO by optimizing the user experience. In addition to web performance, other SEO criteria such as content optimization and internal/external linking must meet user expectations.
IV-Decreasing the ecological footprint
A site consumes resources for each visitor. Slower loading times mean higher energy consumption. Improving site performance reduces its environmental impact.
V- Optimizing sales
The overall performance of an e-commerce site influences its sales. A fast site reduces the abandonment rate and increases the conversion rate, key factors in revenue.
These technical performances also have a direct impact on customer satisfaction indicators, which enable the real perception of users to be assessed.
VII - Decline in rebound rate
A high bounce rate means that visitors leave the site without interacting. Solid web performance improves this rate, boosting conversion rates.
VIII- To increase session length
A visitor who stays longer increases the chances of conversion. A good user experience and the right SXO approach are crucial to achieving this.
2- Web performance components
In any technical field, performance indicators are essential for evaluating sites or monitoring their evolution. In the same way that the automotive industry evaluates a car's performance in terms of torque, horsepower, top speed or time to reach 0-100 km/h, there are many ways to measure the performance of a web page. There are many aspects to consider in order to guarantee the effectiveness of your website.
Web performance focuses primarily on page loading speed, but it also incorporates elements such as SEO, ease of site navigation, and much more. Here are a few key points to consider:
- Technical aspects: Is your site secured in HTTPS? Does it include structured data? Is it optimized for mobile browsing with an AMP version?
- Content: Is your content effective in terms of bounce rate, average visit duration and click-through rate? How has traffic to your site evolved in recent months?
- SEO: Is your content properly optimized for search engines? How many keywords are positioned?
These questions provide a general overview of your site's evaluation. Every optimization, no matter how small, contributes to improving your site's performance. By accumulating these improvements, you'll soon see significant results!
3- Web performance tools
There are many tools dedicated to web performance evaluation. Some are free, others paid for, but most offer both free and paid versions, with limitations on functionality and test volumes. They all present at least data on classic metrics and Web Vitals. What sets them apart is their ability to provide relevant recommendations based on up-to-date references. Here is a selection of some of the most popular, although there are many others.
PageSpeed Insights
Often mistaken for the main tool used by Google in its algorithm, it offers basic recommendations to improve the average score on a scale of 100.
Lighthouse
This key Google tool is accessible via the Chrome browser development tools with an extension. It shares similar recommendations to PageSpeed Insights while including sections dedicated to accessibility, SEO and applications.
Uptrends
A cloud-based website monitoring tool for professionals and businesses, it monitors servers and websites. Easy to use, its dashboard enables real-time monitoring of site performance, and alerts immediately in the event of problems, facilitating their resolution. It can alert staff via SMS, calls, push messages or a dedicated application.
K6 load testing
K6 allows you to test the load of a website. This SaaS and open source tool enables local and online testing, targeting software developers and testers, with over 30 integrations for optimum flexibility.
Web Page test
This platform for developers evaluates website performance. It offers the possibility of launching performance tests from different geographical zones to simulate user positions.
Image Analysis Tool from Cloudinary
This tool analyzes a website's images to measure their performance. It can be used to modify images to optimize site loading speed.
Chrome DevTools
Integrated into the Chrome browser, Chrome DevTools is a set of tools for web developers. It includes features such as responsive testing, image and script loading monitoring, and an error detection console.
4- What are the most relevant indicators?
Certain indicators are essential in the field of web performance. TTFB (Time to First Byte), for example, measures the time required for a complete request to be completed between the browser and the server hosting the site. Simple to calculate, it identifies hosting-related problems such as distance from the data center, undersizing of the processor or memory, lack of cache, incorrect SQL configuration, and so on.
Speed Index : Perceived speed
Another significant indicator is the Speed Index, which evaluates the time it takes for the visible part of the page (the viewport) to be fully loaded. Its video capture, though complex and costly, is crucial to this evaluation. This criterion is not always available in all measurement tools, and can vary considerably depending on the tool used.
What are Core Web Vitals?
In 2020, Google launched the "Core Web Vitals", a set of metrics comprising three "Core Web Vitals" that are now the benchmark. Each indicator aims to evaluate a specific aspect of a web page's performance. Together, they offer a global view of a page's or even a site's performance when grouped together, as in Google's original reports. Discover the three indicators.
LCP
"Main content load time": measures the time required to display the main, visible element of the page. This is often an image, title or block of text. A good LCP should be less than 2.5 seconds and never exceed 4 seconds.
FID
"Reactivity to first interaction": evaluates the time needed for a page to become fluidly interactive. It is strongly influenced by JavaScript, particularly third-party scripts. To be considered good, it must be less than 100 milliseconds. Above 300 milliseconds, it is considered poor.
CLS
"Cumulative layout shift: evaluates the stability of page elements during loading. No vertical or horizontal visual shift should occur. It has no specific units, and to be considered good, it must be less than 0.1, but no more than 0.25.
The other three "Web Vitals" measures include FCP (First Contentful Paint), which evaluates the time taken to display the first visible element of the page, TTI (Time to Interactive), which evaluates the time taken for a page to become interactive for the user, and the Speed Index, already mentioned above.
Real User Monitoring (RUM) tools
SaaS-based RUM tools are not as widespread, mainly because they require initial deployment to start collecting data, and their use entails significant costs that are reflected in subscription rates. However, Google is a notable exception, offering one of the most comprehensive databases on web performance free of charge: the Chrome User Experience Report, or CrUX. Sometimes called the Chrome User Experience Report, although this designation is rarely used.
5- How can you optimize your site's performance?
Web performance, like accessibility, SEO and security, is an essential technical element right from the start of a website's creation. To guarantee fast loading, it's essential to integrate this dimension right from the design stage.
Technical choices, such as framework selection, SSR solutions or server architecture, must be adapted to meet performance objectives, whether in terms of page weight or other indicators (FCP, Speed Index, Blocking Time...).
Web performance is still rarely taken into account, even by well-known agencies, and many websites are deployed without any real attention to this aspect. Optimizing web performance after the fact is often a challenge, especially for teams unfamiliar with the field.
One solution is to call in the experts to carry out a performance audit or optimization. Use this type of service, benefiting from tools and methodologies refined over the years.
Optimizations often follow Pareto's law, with 80% standard actions and 20% specific, adapted to the technical choices of each customer. It is in the latter segment that our expertise brings maximum added value, sometimes enabling ambitious objectives to be achieved.
Another preferred approach is to train front-end developers in advance. By familiarizing them with free resources such as videos, articles or repositories like Web.dev, take advantage of best practices to improve performance.
This approach needs to be complemented by constant monitoring, given the rapidly evolving technical environment: CSS, HTML and JavaScript standards, web browsers, frameworks, tools, SaaS solutions, etc.
This method is ideal for instilling a performance culture within technical teams and across the board, involving business, marketing and UX/UI.
Each of these profiles plays a role in optimizing page speed, whether through development, choice of third-party tools or interface and tool design.
6- The 2Be-FFICIENT approach to web performance
With 2Be-FFICIENT :
Make sure your site is running smoothly in real time by monitoring key performance indicators.
Quickly identify problems that could affect the user experience.
Anticipate malfunctions before they affect your users.
Benefit from a neutral third party to challenge your partners and guarantee better quality of service.
