I’ve been wondering how important page speed really is for websites in 2026.
There was a time when everyone seemed focused on getting a 90+ Lighthouse score, but I’m not sure chasing a perfect score is always worth the effort anymore.
For me, the priorities would be:
Fast loading on mobile
Good Core Web Vitals
Optimized images
Less unnecessary JavaScript
Fewer third-party scripts
Avoiding layout shifts
Making the site feel responsive to real users
At the same time, I’ve seen websites with excellent Lighthouse scores that don’t necessarily feel faster in real-world use.
What are you focusing on in 2026?
Are you still actively optimizing Lighthouse/PageSpeed scores, or are you mainly looking at real-user performance and Core Web Vitals?
This subject has many opinions and may cause debate. Your list of priorities are a very good start IMO.
To me speed is a receipt of that you are using the right tools and methods. Caching, stack, optimizing, safety, hosting, network latency and small footprint (CPU, RAM and disc) etc. I am always trying to get 100 score and low LCP. Sometimes I do reach this goal.
At the end of the day, speed is about the user UX, your own wallet and the environment impact. High PageSpeed score is also SEO and marketing benefits.
You do not need to worry about reducing JavaScript. I have a web page with a very large amount of JavaScript that gives a Lighthouse performance score of 99.
ebsite speed still plays an important role in user experience. A fast-loading website can make navigation smoother, reduce bounce rates, and help visitors find information more easily.
With modern frameworks, image optimization, caching, CDNs, and improved hosting, there are many ways to improve performance. However, I’m curious how much time developers should realistically spend optimizing every small performance issue.
What page-speed improvements have made the biggest difference for your websites?
Yeah, honestly the perfect Lighthouse score chase died down for most of us.
I mainly watch real Core Web Vitals from actual visitors now, especially LCP, since that’s what people actually feel. Third party scripts are usually the real culprit when a “fast” site still feels slow. Lab scores are a decent sanity check, but real user data tells you if you’re actually done.
i done it i have more than 95 but my website has issues it is not index on google as all my pages goes in Crawled - currently not indexed. i need help for this issue.
I don’t chase 100 unless the fixes also improve something users actually feel. Lighthouse is great for spotting regressions, but I always prioritise field data from real users, especially LCP, INP and CLS.
The JavaScript point is a good example: a page can ship a lot of JS and still score well if it’s loaded and executed efficiently. The problem is usually main-thread work, blocking resources and scripts that delay interaction, not the raw amount of JavaScript alone.
And on the 90 vs 100 question, I wouldn’t expect a meaningful SEO advantage just from those extra ten Lighthouse points. If your performance is healthy, spend the engineering time where users or conversions are affected.
I definitely think page speed is still worth optimizing, especially for sites where users are looking for quick answers.
I recently worked on a UAE-focused site that helps users find information about traffic fines. I tested the site with PageSpeed Insights and the results were quite good, but there was still room to improve loading performance.
For this type of site, I think speed matters because users usually come with a very specific intent and don’t want to wait for a page to load just to check a piece of information. A fast LCP, low Total Blocking Time, and stable layout can also make the overall experience much better on mobile.
I wouldn’t say every site needs to chase a perfect 100 score, though. Once the major issues are fixed and the site consistently passes Core Web Vitals, I’d focus more on the actual user experience rather than spending hours trying to gain the last few PageSpeed points.
So yes, IMO PageSpeed is still worth optimizing—but I’d treat it as part of overall UX and technical SEO rather than the only SEO metric that matters.
Yeah I’m in the same camp. On client sites the score is useful as a smoke alarm, not a trophy.
The thing users actually complain about is the site feeling sticky on a phone: big hero image, then a chat widget, then a font that loads late and shoves the layout. Fixing those three usually does more than chasing the last ten Lighthouse points.
If it passes Core Web Vitals on mobile and people can tap the main button without waiting, I stop.
