How generative search is changing the way people find you
Practical lessons from real projects, written for teams who ship.
Summary: Speed is a feature. This checklist covers the changes that consistently move Core Web Vitals into the green — measured on mid-range phones, not developer laptops.
Measure first
Start with field data from real users. Lab tools are great for debugging, but your users’ devices and networks decide the score that matters.
- Track LCP, INP and CLS per template, not just per site.
- Set a performance budget and check it in CI.
- Test on a throttled mid-range Android device.
Images & media
Images are usually the heaviest part of a page. Serve modern formats such as AVIF and WebP, always set width and height, and lazy-load everything below the fold.
The fastest request is the one you never make.
CSS & JavaScript
Ship one compiled stylesheet, defer non-critical scripts and avoid libraries for things the platform already does — <dialog>, scroll-snap and IntersectionObserver cover most needs.
Fonts
Self-host a single variable font, subset it, preload the main file and use font-display: swap.
Key takeaways
- Measure real users.
- Optimise images first.
- Ship less JavaScript.
- Self-host and subset fonts.
Written by
Maja Zupan
Founder & creative director at Meridian. Writes about design systems, performance and the craft of building for the web.
Comments (2)
Tim K. · 2 days ago
Great checklist. The point about testing on mid-range Android devices is underrated.
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