Review a builder page for performance

POM components request their declared styles and scripts when they render. Page composition still determines how much media, third-party code, and dynamic work a visitor receives.

Begin with page purpose

Remove sections and components that do not help the visitor complete the page's goal. A shorter hierarchy reduces rendering work and is easier to maintain.

Review images and backgrounds

• Select images close to their displayed purpose instead of uploading unnecessarily large originals.
• Use the component's responsive image support where available.
• Keep background image loading on Lazy (default) unless the image is part of the initial critical view.
• Supply a mobile background when it avoids downloading or cropping an unsuitable desktop composition.
• Do not use an image to reproduce text that HTML can provide.

Lazy background loading requires Advanced → Performance → Lazy loading (recommended) in the theme settings.

For a Page Builder row or Gutenberg Section background slideshow, lazy loading follows the visible slides, including any slides partly visible at the sides. With theme Lazy Load enabled, choosing eager background loading advances only the first slideshow image; later images wait until their slides appear. Preload only the first critical background. Preloading another slide starts its download immediately.

Images inside POM carousels and sliders also wait until their visible area appears, including partially visible side slides. This works with Gutenberg Image and POM Image blocks as well as legacy content, and preserves responsive image selection. Images outside these components retain native browser lazy loading. Keep accurate image dimensions to reserve space before a download finishes.

A newly revealed slide can briefly show empty space on a slow connection while its image downloads. If the first slide supplies the page's main visible image, preload that one image so strict deferral does not delay it behind JavaScript. Reducing hidden-image downloads usually helps the initial load, but a performance score still depends on the full page, device and connection.

Review video and motion

Use video backgrounds only when they materially improve the page. For supported row, inner-row, column, inner-column, and video settings, Start after first interaction postpones playback work until a visitor interacts.

Background MP4, YouTube, and Vimeo players pause outside the viewport and while the browser tab is hidden. They resume on return only when theme-controlled autoplay was responsible for playback; a visitor's pause remains respected. This limits unnecessary media transfer on long pages and tabs left open.

Always preserve a readable thumbnail or background and a usable page when playback does not start.

Review interactive and external components

Maps, feeds, galleries, carousels, social embeds, and other interactive components add more work than plain text. Keep only the instances the page needs. POM's Google Maps loader makes one shared asynchronous API request when a compatible feature requests it and a key is configured.

Review dynamic content

For listings and query-driven components:

• request only the content needed for the section;
• limit result counts;
• avoid repeating the same query in several components;
• use pagination or intentional progressive disclosure for long result sets.

Verify as a visitor

Open the public page in a private window and test wide and narrow viewports. Confirm that the first useful content appears promptly, delayed media does not cause disruptive layout movement, and the page remains usable if an external embed is slow.