Performance: the five levers that actually count

In most cases, five targeted measures are enough to turn a sluggish site into a fast one — without tool magic, without plug-in stacks. I apply this order consistently because it's sorted by effort-to-effect.

  1. Deliver images correctly — modern formats (WebP, AVIF), srcset for different resolutions, lazy loading for off-screen images. Often accounts for 40–60% of the performance impact.
  2. Preload and subset fonts — only the weights you need, font-display: swap, variable fonts where possible.
  3. Slim down JavaScript — no framework if not needed. For larger projects, Astro, Solid or Qwik instead of React-by-default.
  4. Use cache & CDN — static hosting (Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages) with correct Cache-Control headers.
  5. Question third-party scripts — every external link costs. If needed: defer or async, never blocking.

Measurement discipline: before each project a baseline with Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights, after launch continuous monitoring of Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS).

SEO: the five fundamentals

Same here: no tricks, no blanket promises. Instead, the robust levers that have worked for years and will keep working.

  1. Understand search intent — what did the person want when they searched? Content answers the question, instead of stacking keywords.
  2. Structured content — a logical H1/H2/H3 hierarchy, descriptive alt texts, sensible URL slugs.
  3. Technical SEO as foundation — HTTPS, mobile-first, sitemap, hreflang, JSON-LD for local businesses, products, articles.
  4. Local visibility — Google Business Profile, NAP consistency in directories, locally relevant keywords.
  5. Link building without spam — relevant guest posts, local platforms, networking. No bought backlinks, no doorway pages.

Web design: four phases, clear steps

Every project follows the same frame: Strategy (workshop, concept, sitemap), Design (clickable preview, up to 3 iterations), Development (staging URL from day 1, Lighthouse 95+) and Launch & support (go-live, training, 30 days hypercare). Phase details on the homepage.

Tools & stack

I adapt the stack to the project, not the other way around. But these are the tools I most often use:

  • Frontend: Vanilla JS, Astro, Next.js — depending on interactivity and performance needs
  • Design: Visual concepts with clickable preview
  • CMS / Shop: Shopify, WooCommerce, Sanity, Decap CMS — depending on use case
  • Hosting: Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages
  • Performance audit: Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights, Web Vitals extension
  • SEO audit: Google Search Console, schema validator, manual technical inspection
  • Analytics: Plausible, Umami — GDPR-friendly, no cookie-banner needed

Measurement discipline

What isn't measured can't be improved. So: baseline before each project (Lighthouse, crawl status, Search Console data if available), continuous monitoring after launch (Core Web Vitals, organic visibility), quarterly review of measures with clear target values.