Earlier this month, Danluu.com released an exhaustive 23-page analysis/op-ed/manifesto on the current status of unoptimized web pages and web app performance, finding that just loading a web page can even bog down an entry-level device that can run the popular game PUBG at 40 fps. In fact, the Wix webpage requires loading 21MB of data for one page, while the more famous websites Patreon and Threads load 13MB of data for one page. This can result in slow load times that reach up to 33 seconds or, in some cases, result in the page failing to load at all.
The main measurements are in the table below (expand the tweet to see the table), which measures the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) time across several websites and low-spec devices. As LCP’s full name implies, this is usually the time between a user opening the page and the device rendering its primary content. In addition to the time it takes to load, the bandwidth demands of each site are shown in the left-hand columns. The testing includes the lowest-end Itel P32, the entry-level Tecno S8C, and more powerful systems like the Apple M3 Max, M1 Pro, and M3.
How web bloat impacts users with slow devices:https://t.co/O6Cb4u1KoW pic.twitter.com/0eri7AmVdTMarch 16, 2024
As the testing above shows, some of the most brutally intensive websites include the likes of…Quora, and basically every major social media platform. Newer content production platforms like Squarespace and newer Forum platforms like Discourse also have significantly worse performance than their older counterparts, often to the point of unusability on some devices.
The Tecno S8C, one of the prominent entry-level phones common in emerging markets, is one particularly compelling test device that stuck. The device is actually quite impressive in some ways, including its ability to run PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile at 40 FPS— but the same device can’t even run Quora and experiences nigh-unusable lag when scrolling on social media sites.
That example is most likely the best summation of the overall point, which is that modern web and app design is increasingly trending toward an unrealistic assumption of ever-increasing bandwidth and processing. Quora is a website where people answer questions— there is absolutely no reason any of these websites should be harder to run than a Battle Royale game.
The full piece goes into much more detail on these points and includes several citations and quotes from web developers. For example, founder and former CEO of Discourse Jeff Atwood was quoted as saying Qualcomm is “terrible at their jobs. I hope they go out of business”…because Qualcomm CPUs were 15% behind Apple’s. That feels like an extreme statement about a manufacturer that provides the majority of smartphone SoCs available on the market. You can read the full report here for more details about the tests and resulting performance measurements.
