Fetching Data and the Perception of Speed
summary
Perceived performance often beats raw metrics: users feel <200 ms feels instant, while responses over multiple seconds need explicit feedback or they abandon. Use concrete techniques—stream HTML, progressive JPEG/AVIF, show byte counts like WeTransfer, skeleton loaders, or preload data during login as Directus does—to make slow APIs feel fast. Examples: Google Maps offline cache avoids network drops, Chrome’s dino game distracts during long waits, and async Vue components can cause reflow unless fields are preloaded. prefetch on hover and use skeleton loaders.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (6)
- 0:00Fetching Data and the Perception of Speed
- 2:33Performance for Humans
- 6:24What is Fast?
- 7:28Making the Slow Feel Fast
- 17:26The Paradox of Speed
- 20:21When Slow Works Better
related talks
16mSpeed, Performance, and Human Perception
24mWeb Speed in Perfection
37m"Psychology of Performance"
19mPerceived Performance, And Why It Matters
34mOnce More with Feeling
01h 12mMake It Seem Like Everything Loads Fast
26mDesigning for speed and hacking users perception
22mWhy Performance Matters - JSConf Budapest 201