Speed Through Restraint
Why a small site often gets faster by deleting choices instead of adding optimization layers.
A fast personal site usually starts with a refusal.
Refuse the extra runtime. Refuse the styling abstraction you do not need yet. Refuse the component layer that exists only because the rest of the stack assumes it should.
What actually helps
Most of the perceived speed of a site like this comes from three boring decisions:
- Ship static HTML.
- Keep the CSS file small enough to understand in one sitting.
- Avoid client-side JavaScript unless the page truly benefits from it.
That is not anti-tooling. It is just a reminder that fewer moving parts are still a legitimate optimization strategy.
.prose {
max-width: 46rem;
}A little structure, a little whitespace, and a page can feel quick before you start measuring anything.