The Fastest
I like a good race. Racing isn't always about being the most powerful, often much of the work is about finding what contributes to the drag, like aerodynamics and weight. The runner's shoes, the swimmer's suit, and the car's body are all optimized to prevent drag. Websites are the same. I think it goes without saying that a lighter website that takes fewer trips will load faster. Removing small contributors to drag can add up to big improvements, but they aren't always easy to spot. When I heard about Speedlify, which measures and analyzes site speed over time, I knew I had to give it a try. Who doesn't want a faster site?
Soon after, I found that others were being ranked on the Eleventy Leaderboard. I promptly added my site. On October 5, 2020, I found myself in 2nd place, but soon after much further down the list.
Recently, I decided to see if there was something I could do about it. I removed a plugin I used to lazy load images. Images are an important factor used to determine the score, and I had effectively removed them from the mix.
On August 9th I learned this site topped the №15 leaderboard. The others in the Top 11 are all people I look up to, including software engineers at Google and Microsoft.
Who knows how long I'll be on the list! Quick! I'd better publish this article while I'm still on top!
☆ Update 10/28/2021: I also topped the Eleventy Leaderboards for №16!
☆ Update 01/31/2021: This site topped the Eleventy Leaderboards for №17.