by, Ryan Soeder, Director of Web Development | Mightily
In the first part of this series, we looked at how server setup affects speed. In part two, we explored how developers write cleaner, leaner code to make websites faster. Now in this final chapter, we’re focusing on what your visitors actually see: the content, and the invisible technical tweaks that help it load faster.
Now, in this final part, we’re focusing not only on better code, but on something that’s much more in your control: what actually appears on the page. That means your layout, images, videos, text, and even the fonts you choose. These content decisions can have a huge impact on your site’s performance and on whether people stick around or bounce off.
Let’s break it down.
Smarter Images
Images are often the heaviest elements on a page. A high-resolution photo might look great, but if it’s too large or poorly optimized, it can slow your site down by seconds. That’s a dealbreaker for today’s visitors.
Content creators can make a big difference by compressing images, using modern formats like WebP or AVIF, and uploading files at the exact size they need, not bigger. Lazy loading is another powerful trick. Instead of loading every image on the page right away, images are loaded only as the user scrolls to them.
On the development side, automated tools can handle much of this optimization. Responsive image tags like srcset let the browser decide which version of an image to load depending on screen size, which keeps things light and sharp across devices.
Clean Code for Faster Browsing
Behind every website is a mountain of code — HTML, CSS, JavaScript — that your browser has to read and execute. The more there is, the longer it takes. Developers streamline this process with a few key strategies.
One of the biggest is minification. This means removing everything that’s unnecessary from the code: spaces, line breaks, and even full variable names. For example:
gets turned into:
This tiny change can add up across thousands of lines of code, making the whole site load faster.
Developers also use tools to combine multiple files into one, which reduces the number of requests your browser needs to make. Fewer requests = faster pages.
Critical CSS and Deferred JavaScript
When a browser loads a web page, it processes the code from top to bottom. If everything loads at once — styles, scripts, images, etc. — it can delay how fast the page becomes usable. That’s where techniques like critical CSS and deferred JavaScript come in.
Critical CSS means loading only the styling needed for what the user sees right away (above the fold). The rest can load in the background. Similarly, JavaScript files, especially ones that handle things like menu clicks or form interactions, can be deferred until the page is fully loaded, or even until the user scrolls or moves their mouse.
These strategies prioritize speed where it matters most: the first visible part of the site.
Layouts That Load Lite
Design matters. Not just in how it looks, but in how it performs. Complex, cluttered layouts filled with animations and third-party widgets are slower to render and more likely to overwhelm users.
Simple, mobile-first layouts are faster by nature. Reducing columns, cutting back on animation, and keeping the structure clean makes pages easier to load and easier to use. Content creators can help by avoiding unnecessary popups, heavy sliders, or stacked interactive features at the top of the page.
Developers can use efficient layout tools like CSS Grid or Flexbox and eliminate unused styles and scripts from the site entirely.
Fonts, Videos, and Everything Else
Even small design decisions like fonts can slow your site down. Custom fonts should be used sparingly and ideally hosted locally to avoid extra network requests. Sticking to system fonts or limiting the number of font weights you use can speed things up dramatically.
Videos are another common slowdown. Instead of autoplaying videos in the hero section, it’s better to embed them with a “click to play” button or load the video player only when the user scrolls to it.
Finally, third-party tools like chat widgets, analytics, or tracking scripts can quietly drag down performance. If it’s not essential, consider delaying its load or removing it altogether.
Performance Is Everyone’s Job
Fast websites convert better, rank higher in search results, and keep visitors engaged longer. While developers have the tools to streamline code and optimize loading, content creators and marketers play a huge role too.
Every image you upload, every layout decision you make, every extra font or plugin you add, all contribute to the final load time.
The bottom line? Whether you’re writing, designing, or coding, the goal is the same: keep it lean, keep it clean, and make it lightning fast.