Performance · Check html-weight
HTML payload weight
The total size (in KB) of the raw HTML the browser receives when fetching your homepage, BEFORE images/scripts/styles are loaded. Over ~500 KB of raw HTML is a real penalty on mobile / cellular connections — it adds latency before the page renders at all.
Why it matters
The case for html weight
Page-speed is a ranking factor (Core Web Vitals) and a UX gate. A 600 KB raw HTML payload makes the first byte → first paint take noticeably longer on cellular, which spikes bounce rate and tells Google the page is slow. Bloated themes that inline every piece of CSS and JS hit this often.
How this audit checks it
What we actually look at
We measure the byte-length of the homepage HTML response. PASS if under 500 KB; WARN at 500-1000 KB; FAIL over 1 MB.
Steps
How to apply it
- Minify HTML in production (most build tools do this automatically; check your build config)
- Move large inline JSON-LD or initial-state JSON to a separate `<script src>` if over 50 KB
- Defer non-critical scripts with `<script defer>` or `<script async>`
- Compress with gzip/brotli at the server level (Vercel does this by default)
- If you have 100+ inline SVG icons, move them to an external SVG sprite
Common mistakes
What goes wrong
- Inlining base64-encoded images directly in HTML (these bloat the payload fast)
- Forgetting to enable gzip/brotli at the CDN or origin
- Shipping a full React/Vue/Svelte app for a 5-page brochure site (use static HTML for static content)
Other checks in the baseline
Continue your audit walk-through.
Next step
See how your site scores.
Run the free 13-point audit on your URL — takes ~10 seconds, shows exactly which checks pass and fail with copy-pasteable fixes.