Lightning Fast Web Performance

Your instructor: Scott Jehl

Full-day workshop • Monday, October 14
Page-load times in the ten-second range are still common today, and as the gap between high-end and common devices widens, page performance stands to get worse for the average consumer. Why so slow? It’s mostly our fault: our sites are heavy, and they’re often delivered in ways that don’t take advantage of how browsers work.

Traditionally, web performance has focused on caching strategies and reducing file sizes. That’s still important, but it’s not enough. A megabyte of images is not the same as a megabyte of JavaScript, and they way those files are delivered matters even more. Today, we need to anticipate the ways our site can be slowed or blocked so we can optimize our delivery to avoid performance problems before they can happen.

Providing fast, consistent, and reliable performance on the web today IS possible, and doing it well requires forethought and a proactive mindset. Due to today’s tools and research, we’ve never had a better understanding of what it takes to not only make a site fast, but to make a site consistently fast. Thankfully, the same proven patterns can make most any site on the web lightning-fast and resilient to spotty connections.

What you will learn

In this workshop you will learn how to effectively think about web performance today. You’ll learn about common performance metrics you can observe and which ones matter most, you’ll learn to identify performance bottlenecks, and you’ll learn fast, reliable ways to deliver the different kinds of assets that drive the front-end web today.

Particular topics we’ll cover include:

Measuring and benchmarking perceived performance
Convincing stakeholders to prioritize performance
Understanding the web page loading process
Identifying server-level performance hangups
How and when file size matters most
Evaluating patterns for loading or including CSS, JavaScript, Images, SVG, and Fonts
Optimizing the critical path to perceived performance
Helpful Tools and libraries
HTTP/2 and its helpful additions
Content Delivery Networks and edge cache transformations
Enhancing a user interface optimistically, yet safely
Client-side caching strategies
Service Workers for spotty or offline connectivity
Retaining performance after page load
Monitoring, maintaining, and defending a fast site as it evolves
Making existing sites faster and more resilient

Target audience

Front-End Developers and UI/UX designers comfortable writing HTML, CSS, have at least basic knowledge of JavaScript.

What hardware/software do you need?

Please bring your own laptop, with your favorite text editor, and perhaps an idea for a site you’d like to speed up.

About Scott Jehl

Scott Jehl is a designer/developer at Filament Group who lives in sunny Florida, USA. Scott is a tireless advocate of practices that ensure web access for all. He is a frequent presenter at conferences throughout the world and is always chipping away at various open source projects with his colleagues at Filament.

Scott is the author of Responsible Responsive Design (2014, A Book Apart), and co-author of Designing with Progressive Enhancement (2010, New Riders). Scott also loves to surf.

Time & Location

This full-day workshop will be hosted at the Microsoft Technology Center and will take place the day after SmashingConf. The workshop will be running from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM on Monday, October 14.

Schedule for Monday, October 14

9:00 AM – Doors open, Registration
9:30 AM – Introduction & Kick-off
11:00 AM – Coffee Break
1:00 PM – Lunch
2:00 PM – Afternoon Session
3:30 PM – Coffee Break
5:30 PM – The End

Save C$100 when signing up for the conference and a workshop!