Most portfolio templates are slow for one reason: they’re built on page builders, not code. Here’s how we make ours pass Core Web Vitals out of the box — and how to check any template yourself.
Where the weight comes from
Page builders and stacked animation libraries look great in a demo and ship multi-MB payloads with render-blocking scripts and layout shift. For a portfolio — where you’re being judged on craft — a slow site argues against you.
How we keep it lean
- Hand-coded, semantic HTML (no builder bloat)
- Minimal JS — interactivity only where it earns its place (helps INP)
- Optimized images: modern formats, sized, lazy-loaded, dimensions reserved
- Self-hosted fonts (no swap flash)
- Next.js server rendering where it counts (e.g. Grafik V2)
Why fast = better ranking
CWV is a ranking signal, and server-rendered HTML is what crawlers and AI engines read most reliably. Performance is SEO and AI visibility in one.
Verify it
Run any of our portfolio template demos through PageSpeed (mobile), check transferred size in dev tools, and compare to a page-builder template. The claims are checkable on purpose.
Test it: run a DesignToCodes portfolio template through Lighthouse and compare.
What’s the slowest "premium" template you’ve ever opened in dev tools? 👇
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