Talking international site speed optimization at International Search Summit 2017 in Barcelona, London as well as in Munich covering a broad variety of performance optimization strategies.

1. Bastian Grimm, Peak Ace AG | @basgr
A Complete Guide To Super-Speed Around The World
Speed is absolutely everything!

2. 2 @peakaceag pa.ag
You don‘t want to take notes all the time?
https://pa.ag/iss17speed

3. 3 pa.ag@peakaceag
Revisited: Pagespeed (Load Time) is a ranking factor
Source: http://pa.ag/2iAmA4Y & http://pa.ag/2w9mbv3

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Google is obsessed with site speed and always pushes for
faster sites:
Source: http://pa.ag/1cWFCtY

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Yada-Yada

6. 6 @peakaceag pa.ag
Don‘t get fooled by GSCs „Time spent Downloading“
The data is sh*t and doesn‘t reflect how page load feels at all!
Source: http://pa.ag/2xo20YH
▪ Time spent Downloading simply measures the time to complete a HTTP request.
▪ It‘s an average on files such as CSS, JS and others – thus the number is heavily flawed.
▪ The only valid use case seems to be monitoring “the trend”.
▪ The over all numbers does not reflect “PageSpeed”!

7. 7 @peakaceag pa.ag
Lets get this straight - this is what your users expect:
Obviously, slow page loading time is a major factor in page abandonment.
According to a Nielsen report, 47 % of people
expect a website to load within two seconds,
and 40 % will leave a website if it does not
load fully within three seconds.”
„

8. 8 @peakaceag pa.ag
100 ms can already make a huge difference!
A one second delay in page response = -11 % page views and -7 % conversions
Mozilla: 2.2 seconds faster to load = +15,4 % download conversions
Amazon: 100ms faster = +1% in revenue

9. 9 @peakaceag pa.ag
Yada-Yada

10. 10 pa.ag@peakaceag
Cognitive Load with Stressful Situations
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab, Neurons Inc. 2015
Solving a math problem
Experiencing mobile delays
Watching a horror movie
Standing at the edge of a virtual cliff
Watching a melodramatic TV show
Waiting in line at retail store
Level of stress caused
by delays on mobile is
comparable to watching
a horror movie!

11. 11 @peakaceag pa.ag
Here is what I really do care about: Engagement!
Better user engagement all over the board (baseline: MoM before & after roll-out)
Source: Google Analytics
KPI / MEASUREMENT
Bounce Rate (BR)
Time-on-Site (ToS)
Views per Session (VpS)
BEFORE
42.60 %
4:30 min
3.7 pages
AFTER
35.95 %
5:14 min
4.8 pages

12. Fast loading time plays an important role in overall user experience!
Performance = User Experience!

13. Measuring responsiveness of a web server: The amount of time between
creating a connection & downloading the contents of a web page.
#1 Time to First Byte (TTFB)

14. 14 @peakaceag pa.ag
Free, global TTFB testing with keycdn.com
DNS, TTFB & TLS times from 14 different locations at-a-glance
Source: https://tools.keycdn.com/performance

15. 15 @peakaceag pa.ag
Should I worry about my TTFB?
And what‘s an acceptable result to aim for?
More: http://pa.ag/2lKCIRH & http://pa.ag/2mkJTMY

16. Number of requests, blocking vs. non-blocking, asynchronous requests etc.
#2 Optimise HTTP requests

17. 17 @peakaceag pa.ag
Strong increase: # of requests & file-size
Average: 304 KB of JS code and 6.4 CSS files per page
http://pa.ag/18o6WyO

18. 18 @peakaceag pa.ag
Having to load 23 CSS and JavaScript files sucks!
Deichmann (AT) wastes 3 seconds using blocking-resources...

19. 19 @peakaceag pa.ag
Whenever you see this: Reduce the amount of requests!
Combine multiple CSS & JavaScripts files to one (per type)

20. 20 @peakaceag pa.ag
For CSS, try:
▪ http://www.phpied.com/cssmin-js/
▪ http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/compressor/
▪ http://www.minifycss.com/css-compressor/
For JS, go with:
▪ http://jscompress.com/
▪ https://github.com/mishoo/UglifyJS
▪ http://www.crockford.com/javascript/jsmin.html
▪ https://developers.google.com/closure/compiler
Don‘t forget: Minify CSS & JavaScript files
Remove white-spaces, line-brakes, comments & shortens variables/functions

21. 21 @peakaceag pa.ag
For all other images: Put ‘em on a diet!
tinyPNG & tinyJPG for smart (lossy) compression & removal of meta-data et al.
http://tinypng.com | http://tinyjpg.com

22. 22 @peakaceag pa.ag
For everything else: asynchronous requests where possible
Use HTML 5 async, JavaScript workarounds and/or loader:
Further information: http://pa.ag/18o8War

23. Pretty, varied, colourful and ... slow!
#3 Custom Webfonts

24. 24 @peakaceag pa.ag
68% of all websites use at least one non-standard font!
Result: 114 KB additional data and on average 2.9 HTTP requests
Source: http://pa.ag/1BRUnbe

25. 25 @peakaceag pa.ag
Classic scenario: using external CSS
Easy to use … but one big disadvantage: CSS is render-blocking!

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Load custom fonts with Fontloader
Google's asynchronous solution: webfont.js (JavaScript loads first, then CSS)

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Not very successful and also problematic:
FOUT (Flash of unstyled Text) = super annoying flickering
Fighting the FOUT: http://pa.ag/1BRWMmu

28. 28 @peakaceag pa.ag
How I usually tackle this:
Credits: http://pa.ag/1GakitY & http://pa.ag/1NDXCVi

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Some new stuff to play with: „font-display“ strategies
More: http://pa.ag/2eUwVob

30. pre-fetching of specific DNS, resources and whole pages
#4 Pre-Fetching & -Rendering

31. 31 @peakaceag pa.ag
Breakdown of requests for Netdoktor.de (waterfall view)
DNS lookup for the asset server (static.netdoktor.de) takes ~300 ms

32. 32 @peakaceag pa.ag
DNS pre-fetching in <head>: 81 ms = 75 % time saved
Very useful for other hosts' resources, that you want to use at a later stage.

33. 33 @peakaceag pa.ag
One step further: pre-connecting HTTPS
Don't just pre-resolve DNS names, also allow for TLS-handshake.

34. The next image in a gallery or a larger version of an image (zoom)
Critical HTML fragments like boxes or layers (Sign Up/Sign in)
What else could I pre-fetch?

35. Shopping basket (Checkout), as soon as an article is placed inside
The next page of a multipage article
Also, what could I pre-render?

36. Another (new) element in mobile SERPs
#5 Accelerated mobile pages (AMP)

37. 37 @peakaceag pa.ag
What is not allowed:
▪ external CSS
▪ JavaScript (except async JS)
▪ Flash, Java & Co.
AMP: stripped down HTML for maximum performance
Google values speed much more than (HTML) features
Maximum mobile performance:
▪ less CPU and memory
▪ less bandwidth
▪ less battery usage
▪ Better user experience
Keep in mind:
▪ text and images only, everything else is limited
▪ CSS only inline (non-blocking)
▪ CSS with limitation in size
▪ Requires width and height values (i.e. images)

38. 38 pa.ag@peakaceag
Without a doubt, AMP is extremely fast…
But totally different UX and only 3 % of AMP visitors actually transition to non-AMP URL
Source: http://pa.ag/2fkyXLJ
6231
929
Regular AMP
Mobile page load time
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
(ms)
Real-world data: mobile load times
5.7x faster

39. 39 pa.ag@peakaceag
… And it gained quite a bit of momentum:
Source: http://pa.ag/2qoc2bh & http://pa.ag/2qoaOwc & http://pa.ag/2rmWGRN

40. 40 @peakaceag pa.ag
Multiple publishers said an AMP
page view currently generates
around half as much revenue as
a page view on their full mobile
websites.”
Via WSJ: publishers still not 100 % happy
AMP page views only generate half as much revenue as “real“ mobile sites…
Source: http://pa.ag/2fzOWK3
„

41. 41 @peakaceag pa.ag
But… isn‘t AMP only for publishers?
AMP for products will be available very soon in a SERP near you!
More: https://ampbyexample.com/samples_templates/product/

42. There is no reason anymore, to not deliver content directly via HTTP/2,
which is super fast.
#6 Go HTTPS & HTTP/2

43. 43 @peakaceag pa.ag
Source: Searchmetrics US Ranking Factors 2016 – Download: http://pa.ag/2gO9Qq3

44. 44 @peakaceag pa.ag
Top 3 for high volume queries: >60 % HTTPS results!
Source: SEMrush Ranking Factors 2017 - https://semrush.com/ranking-factors

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This is what I think is going to happen:
We’ll be seeing more than 90 %
of all top 10 results on HTTPS
by the end of 2017!”
„

46. 46 @peakaceag pa.ag
HTTPS ranking “boost“? Well… maybe… maybe not!
Source: http://pa.ag/2ekj4Gi & http://pa.ag/2pRq0PS

47. 47 @peakaceag pa.ag
Soon: HTTPS will be required for AMP?!
Source: http://pa.ag/2fuOdYq

48. 48 @peakaceag pa.ag
Even if you don't believe in a “boost” …
Since January ‘17 login/credit card fields on HTTP are flagged as “not secure”
Source: http://pa.ag/2eh2Trk

49. 49 @peakaceag pa.ag
This is just the beginning: more warnings from Oct. ‘17!
Chrome 62 is going to flag every single HTTP URL in incognito mode!
Source: http://pa.ag/2rmIAjg

50. 50 @peakaceag pa.ag
Some tools to get you started with HTTP/2:
Download and test: https://tools.keycdn.com/http2-test & http://pa.ag/2cG7R3k & https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/

51. So yes, you need HTTPS!

52. 52 @peakaceag pa.ag
Let me make this very, very clear:
If you are using HTTPS
without HTTP/2 (SPDY) you
are doing it all wrong!”
„

53. A bit of everything, for everyone…!
#7 More Tools

54. 54 @peakaceag pa.ag
Googles‘ PageSpeed Insights
I am really not the biggest fan…!

55. 55 @peakaceag pa.ag
Pingdoms’ waterfall chart is a good starting point:
It’s free, easy to use and the data feels simple to consume…

56. 56 @peakaceag pa.ag
Try webpagetest.org – they have it all:
A lot of info at-a-glance: TTFB, Keep-Alive, Compression & Caching, Image Usage,
CDN & waterfall diagrams

57. 57 @peakaceag pa.ag
WordPress & Site Speed Plug-ins
Plugin-Download:
▪ https://wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/
▪ https://wordpress.org/plugins/bwp-minify/
▪ https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-smushit/
▪ https://wp-rocket.me/

58. 58 @peakaceag pa.ag
You need to monitor your site continuously over-time!
https://www.peterhedenskog.com/blog/2015/04/open-source-performance-dashboard/

59. Time for some crazy stuff!?

60. The code and resources required to render the initial view of a web page.
#8 Critical Rendering Path

61. 61 pa.ag@peakaceag
Critical Rendering Path Optimisation
Initial view
(Critical)
Below the fold
(Not critical)

62. 62 pa.ag@peakaceag
Critical Rendering Path Optimisation
Understanding how HTML, CSS & JS will be turned into rendered output
Source: http://pa.ag/2vhOt7W
Optimizing for performance is all about under-
standing what happens between receiving the
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript bytes and the required
processing to turn them into rendered pixels -
that's the critical rendering path.
„

63. 63 pa.ag@peakaceag
CSSOM: The CSS Object Model
body
font-size:16px;
h1
font-size:22px;
p
font-size:16px;
p
font-size:12px;
a
font-size:12px;
img
font-size:16px;
▪ The CSSOM is basically a "map" of the CSS
styles found on a web page.
▪ It is much like the DOM (Document Object
Model), but for the CSS rather than the HTML.
▪ The CSSOM combined with the DOM are used
by browsers to display web pages.

64. 64 pa.ag@peakaceag
Web browsers use the CSSOM to render a page
To display your webpage, a web browser must
take a few steps. For the moment we will simplify
it a little and talk about four main steps that will
illustrate the importance of the CSSOM:

65. 65 pa.ag@peakaceag
Google doesn‘t do a single GET request for their CSS!

66. 66 pa.ag@peakaceag
How to know what CSS is critically required?
Minimum: A snapshot of CSS rules to render a default desktop resolution (e.g. 1280x1024).
Better: Various snapshots for mobile phones, pad/s & desktop/s - so lot‘s of work!
Source: http://pa.ag/2o4x0uE

67. 67 @peakaceag pa.ag
My current favourite: „Critical“ (using Node / Phantom JS)
Renders a site in multiple resolutions & builds a combined and compressed CRP CSS:
Critical & criticalCSS on GitHub: http://pa.ag/2wJTZAu & http://pa.ag/2wT1ST9

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If you just want to play around: criticalcss.com
Give it a try: https://criticalcss.com/

69. 69 @peakaceag pa.ag
Putting it all together:
Fit the HTML, CSS & JS that’s necessary for “Start Render” into that first 14 KB round trip!
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="widght=device-width">
<tittle>CRP loading demo </titltle>
<!-- critical CSS goes here -->
<style> h1 { color: green; } </style>
<!-- use async preload // no IE, Edge & some other uninportant ones (http://caniuse.com/#search=preload) -->
<link rel="preload" href="non-critical.css" as="style" onload="this.rel='stylesheet'" />
<!--noscript for req. without JS -->
<noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="non-critical.css"></noscript>
<!-- include polyfill for shitty browsers -->
<script>
*! loadCSS. [c]2017 Filament Group, Inc. MIT License */
(function(){ ... } ());
/*! loadCSS rel=preload polyfill. [c] 2017 Filament Group, Inc. MIT License */
(function(){ ... } ());
</script>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
inline your critical CSS
1
Loading non-critical CSS
async using rel=“preload“
2
Apply the CSS once it has
finished loading via “onload“
3
Fallback for non-JS requests
4
Implement loadCSS script for
older browsers
5
<!-- critical CSS goes here -->
<style> h1 { color: green; } </style>
<!-- use async preload // no IE, Edge & some other uninportant ones
(http://caniuse.com/#search=preload) -->
<link rel="preload" href="non-critical.css" as="style" onload="this.rel='stylesheet'" />
<!-- use async preload // no IE, Edge & some other uninportant ones
(http://caniuse.com/#search=preload) -->
<link rel="preload" href="non-critical.css" as="style" onload="this.rel='stylesheet'" />
<!--noscript for req. without JS -->
<noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="non-critical.css"></noscript>
*! loadCSS. [c]2017 Filament Group, Inc. MIT License */
(function(){ ... } ());
/*! loadCSS rel=preload polyfill. [c] 2017 Filament Group, Inc. MIT License */
(function(){ ... } ());

70. (A dirty way to prove it probably is…)
Is it really worth the effort?

71. 71 @peakaceag pa.ag
Before vs. after comparison: A fresh WordPress setup #1
HTTP, no HTTP/2, Twenty Seventeen theme (1x CSS, 8x JS, Custom Fonts)
No caching & no other performance optimizations

72. 72 @peakaceag pa.ag
Before vs. after comparison: A fresh WordPress setup #2
HTTP, no HTTP/2, Twenty Seventeen theme (1x CSS, 8x JS, Custom Fonts)
W3Total (CSS, JS, HTML minify, caching, compression)

73. 73 @peakaceag pa.ag
Before vs. after comparison: A fresh WordPress setup #3
HTTP, no HTTP/2, Twenty Seventeen theme (1x CSS, 8x JS, Custom Fonts)
W3Total (CSS, JS, HTML minify, caching, compression) + CRP CSS inlined!

74. 74 @peakaceag pa.ag
Performance metrics comparison at-a-glance
Rendering starts significantly earlier; this also allows for faster interaction with the site!
KPI / MEASUREMENT
Load Time
Time to first byte (TTFB)
Start Render
Time to Interactive (TTI)
DEFAULT WP
1.357 sec
0.454 sec
1.000 sec
0.956 sec
BASIC PERFORMANCE
0.791 sec
0.159 sec
0.600 sec
0.931 sec
FULLY OPTIMIZED
0.789 sec
0.157 sec
0.410 sec
0.563 sec
(+32%)
(+41%)

75. Highest quality, (more) efficient data compression, smaller files.
It hasn’t fully caught on yet, but is very exciting:
#9 New image formats

76. 76 @peakaceag pa.ag
62 % of all web traffic is made up of images...
… and 51 % of all URLs load more than 40 images per request.
Source: http://pa.ag/1SGDOEo

77. 77 @peakaceag pa.ag
WebP: Google‘s alternative to JPEG, PNG and GIF
Lossy and lossless compression, transparency, metadata, colour profiles, animation and
much smaller files (30 % vs. JPEG, 80 % vs. PNG)
Everything about WebP: http://pa.ag/1EpFWeN

78. 78 @peakaceag pa.ag
We‘re not quite there yet....
Currently only supported by Chrome, Opera and Android
Source: http://caniuse.com/#feat=webp

79. 79 @peakaceag pa.ag
You can still use WebP with on-the-fly replacement
Swap PNG and JPEG images per re-write (i.e. using .htaccess)

80. 80 @peakaceag pa.ag
You can still use WebP with on-the-fly replacement
Swap PNG and JPEG images per re-write (i.e. using .htaccess)
VS.

81. 81 @peakaceag pa.ag
Using HTML5 and <picture> with newer templates
Browsers, that don‘t support <picture>, will ignore this.
<Source> browsers, who don't support WebP, will use <img> as a fallback.
More Information: http://responsiveimages.org/

82. 82 @peakaceag pa.ag
This is not the end of the story just yet: FLIF, BPG etc.
Left: image size compared to original PNG size
Further reading: http://pa.ag/1S5OQmX

83. Talking about image file-types…

84. 84 @peakaceag pa.ag
Guetzli: -35% smaller JPEGs due to better encoding
No new “filetype” needed at all; operating systems and browsers don’t need to adopt!
Source: https://research.googleblog.com/2017/03/announcing-guetzli-new-open-source-jpeg.html

85. Has anyone heard of this?
#10 Brotli

86. 86 @peakaceag pa.ag

87. 87 @peakaceag pa.ag
20–25 % higher compression rate (vs. Zopfli/Deflate)
A completely new data format: currently only for Firefox and nginx
Try it out: http://pa.ag/1XdM1RV & http://pa.ag/1XdMK5w

88. 88 @peakaceag pa.ag
http://pa.ag/iss17speed
Always looking for talent! Check out jobs.pa.ag
Bastian Grimm
bg@pa.ag
twitter.com/peakaceag
facebook.com/peakaceag
www.pa.ag
Interested? Here you go: