"I love Web Performance Consultant – Simon Hearne"

2022-05-05 16:07:02

Simon HearneBlogAboutConsultancyTalksToolsSimon HearneWeb Performance ConsultantEmailTwitterLinkedInGithubRSSHi! I'm Simon, a freelance web performance consultant. I help my clients to deliver fast and inclusive web user experiences.I write about web performance and speak about it at conferences. I also help to run the London Web Performance Group. I provide consultancy to clients of all sizes to help improve their web performance and user experience - find out more.All Blog Posts59March 22, 2022SPASEOwebperfconsultancyOptimising Core Web Vitals on SPAsSingle-page applications present some unique challenges for measuring and optimising core web vitals, here we review the key optimisations you should be making for your SPAFebruary 22, 2022developmentFixing empty responses from Cloudflare Workers SitesA quick fix for empty response bodies on Cloudflare Workers Sites194February 16, 2022webperfSurvivorship Bias in Web PerformanceWhy your analytics shows your site as faster than it is, and why FCP is a key metric to optimise for.February 4, 2022webperfconsultancyThe value of an independent web performance consultantIf you're wondering if you need an independent web performance consultant, this is why I think you do!283January 27, 2022 (updated January 28, 2022)webperfCaching Header Best PracticesCaching headers are surprisingly complex and often misconfigured. Here we look at some key cache scenarios and recommend the ideal headers to set.74November 2, 2021 (updated November 4, 2021)webperfFast and Responsive Hero Videos for Great UXResponsive landing page hero videos are increasingly popular, here we show how to make them as fast as possible.September 23, 2021webperfvideoAn Inclusive Web is Fast by DefaultWeb performance is critical to inclusive design - users on low-end devices or with poor connectivity are excluded from large and slow applications43February 26, 2021webperfuxSlow site speed is still the biggest cause of web stressIt's something we've all felt before: the stress and anger induced when trying to use a frustratingly slow website or app. It's really hard to quantify this feeling though, and even harder to track it in your users.213February 22, 2021 (updated June 15, 2021)webperfseoEverything we know about Core Web Vitals and SEOThere has been a lot of uncertainty and confusion since Google announced the Page Experience Update in 2020. In this post we will summarise everything we know about the update and the potential SEO impact473January 19, 2021 (updated January 21, 2021)webperfHow to avoid layout shifts caused by web fontsOne of the biggest causes of layout shifts for my clients is late-loading web fonts, let's look at how to optimise them!32January 15, 2021webperfuxOptimistic UI Patterns for Improved Perceived PerformanceSpeed is in the eye of the beholder, it is a perception of how fast an experience feels. Optimistic UI patterns can significantly improve perceived performance for relatively little effort.65December 22, 2020webperfAlternatives to Spinners on the WebAnimated spinners are so 1999, there are some obvious and less-obvious alternatives to improve user experience.56December 10, 2020webperfWeb Performance Predictions for 20212020 was a wild ride. Here are five key things to watch in the world of web performance in 2021!50November 9, 2020 (updated December 21, 2020)webperfThe Impact of Let's Encrypt Changes on Android UsersLet's Encrypt will use its own root certificate in 2021, this may block access to 12% of Android users globally.95November 4, 2020 (updated November 22, 2021)webperfsecurityThe Performance Cost of EV CertificatesExtended Validation certificates are expensive and degrade performance. Move to an OV certificate if you can!32October 27, 2020webperfopinionGetting Fast and Staying ThereGetting fast is difficult, staying fast even more so. How do successful companies ensure that their site speed stays at peak?October 26, 2020webperfWhat is the best page speed metric?Out of the hundreds of available performance metrics, which ones make sense for you?44October 22, 2020webperfUXFour Charts That Prove the Value of Site SpeedSite speed is critical to user experience and online success, here are four charts which prove the value!239October 19, 2020 (updated January 11, 2021)webperfseoHow to Improve Core Web VitalsCore Web Vitals are three new performance metrics which will soon impact SEO ranking. Learn how to measure and improve them to maximise user experience!October 15, 2020webperfvideoThe Psychology of SpeedWe intuitively know that faster is better, but what's the psychology and physiology behind it?22June 15, 2020workGiving Great (Remote) Software DemosGiving great software demos is both science and art. Here are some tips on making the most out of every demo opportunity, even when you're stuck at home!102May 29, 2020webperfWho Opts-in to Save-data?A primer on save-data, what it means for your users and what it means for you.127May 13, 2020webperfwebpagetestMeasuring Performance behind consent popupsOpting in to cookies can load multiple megabytes of additional content. Here are tips on how to measure web performance both with and without cookie consent.200May 7, 2020 (updated May 11, 2020)webperfWhen Network is Faster than CacheWe assume that browser caches are near-instantaneous, but data shows that retrieving an object from cache can take hundreds of milliseconds!83May 3, 2020webperfIs it time for a Web Performance rebrand?Web Performance is a niche term in a broad market, should we widen our appeal to reach more people?8January 7, 2020homeautomationraspberrypiCollecting SmartThings data in InfluxDB on Raspberry PiHow to collect data from your Home Automation system into a local timeseries database.8January 7, 2020 (updated May 1, 2020)homeautomationraspberrypiCollecting SpeedTest results in Influx on Raspberry PiHow to set up regular SpeedTest reports into a local InfluxDB on a Raspberry Pi9January 7, 2020homeautomationraspberrypiReporting Raspberry Pi System Metrics to InfluxDBHow to set up regular system stat reports from a Raspberry Pi into a local InfluxDB25January 7, 2020homeautomationraspberrypiInstalling InfluxDB & Grafana on Raspberry PiI recently treated myself to a RaspberryPi 4 Model B to use as a(nother) home server. This is a brief guide on getting InfluxDB and Grafana set up to store and graph timeseries data.106December 10, 2019webperfsecurityHTTP Headers for fast & secure static sitesAn introduction to key HTTP response headers for speed and security, with implementation guides for Netlify & CloudFlare74November 25, 2019webperfSix Web Performance Technologies to Watch in 2020Don't bet on 5G and HTTP/3 to make things faster, there are six technologies that I believe will have a bigger impact on web performance in 2020.November 22, 2019webperfvideoDeep dive into third-party performanceA deep-dive into the impact of third-party tags on web performance.40August 13, 2019webperfimagesNative image lazy loading has landed in Chrome, maybe don't use itNative lazy loading for iframes and images landed in Chrome 76, but don't go ripping out your existing lazy loading strategy just yet.August 9, 2019webperfwebpagetestWebPageTest Private - 'no successful results'A potential quick fix for "The test completed but there were no successful results." in WebPageTest private instances.36August 7, 2019webperfWhy Site Speed is Critical for Online PublishersSite speed is a critical factor in the success of an online publishing business, whether revenue is driven by adverts or subscriptions. This post demonstrates the relationship between speed and publishing revenue, and suggests some quick wins to improve both!June 27, 2018webperfconferenceLead Developer Conference (London) - Day 1!Lead Developer is a conference for senior and lead software engineers. These are my raw notes from day one.May 11, 2018webperfconferenceDelta V Conference - Day 2!Delta V Conference is a new two-day, single-track web performance conference in London, hosted by me, Perry Dyball and Jo Franchetti. Here's my raw notes from the fantastic content from our lovely speakers on day two.May 10, 2018webperfconferenceDelta V Conference - Day 1!Delta V Conference is a new two-day, single-track web performance conference in London, hosted by me, Perry Dyball and Jo Franchetti. Here's my raw notes from the fantastic content from our lovely speakers on day one.January 14, 2018webperfvideoThird-Party Content - the weak link?The Resource Timing API allows site owners to measure how third-parties perform for every single pageview. Combining this data with business intelligence provides new insight to the impact of third-party providers on business performance.April 7, 2017webperfpwaTwitter Lite isn't as good as the app, and that's okayTwitter's Progressive Web App is finally out of testing, and it's not as good as the native app. Missing push notifications, wonky images, small text boxes, lack of sharing intents and confusing pull-to-update behaviour all highlight the challenge of building a PWA. The fact that Twitter is on-board with PWAs is a great step towards better web experiences...March 29, 2017webperfanalyticsYour Analytics Lies to YouYou can't rely on your web analytics for performance data and it's understating bounce rate and traffic numbers from old devices.January 20, 2017webperfimagesHow to Optimise CSS Image SpritesOptimising sprites might be more important than you think, and easier than you expect!November 8, 2016webperfconferenceThree WebPerf Takeaways from Velocity EuropeVelocity Amsterdam has just come to a close. Here are the three key things that I am taking away from the two days of sessions.October 11, 2016webperfconferenceVelocity NY 2016 - Wrap-upVelocity New York seems like a distant memory now, especially with Velocity Europe around the corner. With that said, I have copious notes from the two day conference which I have summarised here. There were a lot of nuggets of wisdom which I’ll try to organise into a logical order.July 11, 2016 (updated April 16, 2020)webperfwebpagetestBlocking requests in webpagetest? Don't use Chrome.We know that third-party content can harm the user experience on a website. Measuring that impact can be tricky.June 29, 2016webperfpresentationHow fast is fast enough?Do you know when your website’s speed starts to impact your customers’ behaviour?June 8, 2016webperfwebpagetestGetting Reliable Visual Performance MetricsTips to get more reliable & consistent visual metrics from WebPageTestJanuary 21, 2016webperfconferenceRender Conf 2016Render Conference - previously known as jQuery UK - was held in Oxford last week. It's a front-end conference for front-end people, which makes me a bit of an outsider. Performance is not the focus of Render Conference. Render is an opportunity for me to hone up my front-end skills and get an idea of what front-end developers are up against and the latest...January 18, 2016webperfPrioritising Site Speed RecommendationsSometimes prioritising recommendations is more important than making them.November 1, 2015webperfconferenceVelocity Europe 2015 - The Good Ones!This post is a review and summary of the talks at Velocity Europe that I attended. I've summarised each talk and given links to the slides, videos and ratings. A previous post contains the talks that got a five star review from me. Less than a five star review is not a bad thing, though. Five stars means exceptional, while three stars means the talk had s...November 1, 2015webperfconferenceVelocity Europe 2015 - My AllstarsThis post is a review and summary of the talks at Velocity Europe that got a 5 star review from me. I've summarised each talk and given links to the slides, videos and ratings. A further post contains the talks that didn't quite get a five star review from me.September 11, 2015webperfjankMeasuring Webpage JankWebpage jank can harm the user experience, here's an easy way to measure it on your pages6August 10, 2015webperfthird-partyBe Mindful With ModernizrModernizr might be making your site slow, especially on mobilesAugust 7, 2015webperffutureThe Future of Web Performance - Part 1Web performance is critically important, how will upcoming technologies change the way we manage it?July 3, 2015webperfthird-partyQuestions to Ask Your Third-PartiesWe need rules to keep third-party Javascript in check.July 3, 2015webperfthird-partyManage Third-party Risk Using a Content Security PolicyA feature to prevent cross-site-scripting may make it easier to police third-party javascript.May 29, 2015webperfUsing a Web Performance Heatmap to Assess Page PerformanceI've made a Heatmap to visualise when each element loads on a page.5March 19, 2015third-partywebperfHow to Find the Third-Parties on Your SiteThird-party means not you or me, but them.March 11, 2015webperfWeb Performance Optimisation BasicsWebsite performance is critical to user experience. We need rules to make it easier.Simon HearneWeb Performance ConsultantEmailTwitterLinkedInGithubRSS