The process of getting a piece of web content to the end user is actually quite complex - a lot of moving parts in the form of different software, different hardware, different levels of page complexity, network constraints and so on … all have to click together smoothly to make a web page appear. The fast, complete and personal content showing up on a phone or tablet takes a whole host of behind-the-scenes “magic” that just has to work.

In recent weeks, we’ve written a lot about mobile web performance and the importance of achieving content delivery on mobile that is at least as good as desktop delivery. Creating this parity - the seamless mobile experience - has been easier said than done, but it affects pretty much all businesses across industries that seek to facilitate business and operations and accommodate customers and employees however and wherever they are. And while these truths are universal - they do affect certain industries more than others (or rather more urgently than others).

Mobile web performance is key to meeting the accelerating proliferation of mobile as one of, if not the, most used devices in users’ hands. Cisco’s Visual Networking Index predicts that by 2020, smartphone traffic will even surpass PC traffic. While this inevitability unfold, another uncomfortable inevitability is the growing pains that go hand in hand with proliferation. Users expect instantaneous results - waiting time will drive users away: Google research concluded that “when your site or app is clumsy or slow, 29% of smartphone users will immediately switch to another site or app (...). In fact, of those who switch, 70% do so because of lagging load times.”

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I started writing this post a year ago when 2016 dawned. You know how it is: when a new year begins, we tend to take stock, analyze, reflect and sometimes go back to basics. But we often drop the ball and don't finish everything we start. (What else are New Year's resolutions for?)