Signs it is time to revisit mobile performance
Every audit we run turns up some version of this. A few signals that mobile performance is due some attention.
Real-world numbers from actual visitors matter more than a score produced on a fast laptop. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.
The signals
- Nobody can say when it was last reviewed
- The answer depends on who you ask
- Phones have less processing power and worse networks
- Test on mid-range devices, not just the newest
How to approach it
JavaScript costs far more on mobile than on desktop. The teams that handle this well are rarely the ones with the biggest budgets. Assume whoever inherits this will have half your context and none of your patience.
What this looks like day to day
Performance work is mostly subtraction, which makes it unpopular and effective. Three things worth confirming about mobile performance before you move on:
- Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
- Phones have less processing power and worse networks — and you know whether that is true here
- There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped
The point is not perfection, it is knowing which of these you have consciously chosen to skip.