Phase 9 - Performance & SEO

Overview

• Track: Both (MVP & Showcase)
• Duration: 1-2 days
• Dependencies: Phase 0-8 completed
• Deliverables: Optimized site, performance reports, SEO implementation, monitoring setup

Entry Criteria

• QA testing complete
• All bugs fixed
• Content finalized
• Images already optimized (Phase 7)

Implementation Steps

Step	Task	MVP	Showcase	Notes
9.01	Audit current performance	✅	✅	Baseline metrics
9.02	Optimize critical path	✅	✅	CSS, fonts, scripts
9.03	Implement caching strategy	✅	✅	Headers, service worker
9.04	Minify and compress	✅	✅	HTML, CSS, JS
9.05	Set up CDN	✅	✅	Static assets
9.06	Optimize web fonts	✅	✅	Subset, preload
9.07	Technical SEO audit	✅	✅	Crawlability, indexing
9.08	Schema markup	✅	✅	Structured data
9.09	Generate sitemap	✅	✅	XML sitemap
9.10	Submit to search engines	✅	✅	Google, Bing
9.11	Performance monitoring	❌	✅	RUM setup
9.12	Create performance budget CI	❌	✅	Automated checks

Common Pitfalls

1. Ignoring Third-Party Scripts: External scripts killing performance

   • Solution: Lazy load, use facades, or self-host

2. Unoptimized Fonts: Loading entire font families

   • Solution: Subset fonts, use variable fonts, preload critical

3. Missing Caching Headers: Not leveraging browser cache

   • Solution: Set appropriate cache-control headers

4. Blocking Resources: CSS/JS blocking render

   • Solution: Inline critical CSS, defer non-critical JS

5. Poor Image Strategy: Wrong formats or sizes

   • Solution: Use modern formats, responsive images

Exit Criteria

• Lighthouse scores meet targets (97+ performance)
• Core Web Vitals pass (LCP < 2.5s, FID < 100ms, CLS < 0.1)
• All images optimized with modern formats
• Critical CSS inlined, non-critical deferred
• Fonts subsetted and preloaded
• Caching strategy implemented
• Service worker active (Showcase)
• SEO audit passes
• Schema markup implemented
• Sitemap generated and submitted
• Performance monitoring active (Showcase)
• Bundle sizes within budget

Rollback Strategy

If performance degrades:

1. Script Issues:

   • Remove problematic third-party scripts
   • Revert to previous bundle configuration
   • Check for unintended dependencies

2. Style Regression:

   • Verify critical CSS extraction
   • Check for CSS-in-JS issues
   • Revert style changes

3. Image Problems:

   • Re-run optimization pipeline
   • Check CDN configuration
   • Verify responsive images

AI Assistant Notes

Key Files to Reference

• astro.config.mjs - Build optimizations
• public/_headers - Caching strategy
• Performance audit scripts
• Lighthouse configuration

Common Prompts for This Phase

• “Optimize bundle size for production”
• “Implement Core Web Vitals monitoring”
• “Set up caching headers for static assets”
• “Create performance budget CI workflow”

Context Requirements

• Current performance metrics
• Target audience geography
• CDN preferences
• Analytics platform