The latest articles on DEV Community by HIBA IP (@hibhashim). https://dev.to/hibhashim https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4148883%2F181d1099-4dd8-4fce-b1f4-3468858070e8.jpg https://dev.to/hibhashim en HIBA IP Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:19:55 +0000 https://dev.to/hibhashim/why-your-website-feels-slow-even-when-your-pagespeed-score-looks-good-125d https://dev.to/hibhashim/why-your-website-feels-slow-even-when-your-pagespeed-score-looks-good-125d <p>A website can have a decent PageSpeed score and still feel slow to users. This happens because performance isn’t just about one number.</p> <p>One metric worth understanding is Interaction to Next Paint (INP). It measures how responsive a page is when users interact with it, such as clicking a button, opening a menu, or typing into a form.</p> <h2> <strong>What Usually Makes INP Worse?</strong> </h2> <p>One common cause is long-running JavaScript.</p> <p>When JavaScript keeps the browser’s main thread busy, the browser may have to wait before responding to an interaction. This can make a page feel sluggish even when the initial page load looks fine.</p> <p>Other possible causes include:</p> <ul> <li>Large amounts of JavaScript</li> <li>Expensive event handlers</li> <li>Unnecessary third-party scripts</li> <li>Heavy DOM updates</li> <li>Poorly optimised rendering</li> </ul> <h2> <strong>How I Would Debug It</strong> </h2> <p>Instead of immediately trying to improve the score, I’d first reproduce the slow interaction.</p> <p>Chrome DevTools’ Performance panel can help identify what happens between the user’s interaction and the next visual update.</p> <p>A simple workflow is:</p> <p><strong>Find the slow interaction → record a performance trace → identify long tasks → find the responsible code → optimise → test again</strong>.</p> <p>It’s also important to compare lab testing with real-user data. A local DevTools test can help you diagnose a problem, while field data gives you a better idea of what actual visitors are experiencing.</p> <h2> <strong>Don’t Optimise Just for a Green Score</strong> </h2> <p>A green Core Web Vitals score is useful, but the real objective is a website that feels responsive to users.</p> <p>Performance optimisation works better when you focus on the actual bottleneck instead of making random changes just to improve a number.</p> <p>I also write about practical SEO, websites and digital strategy at <a href="https://hibahashim.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">hibahashim.com</a></p> frontend javascript performance webdev