Most performance advice online assumes a baseline that doesn't exist for most of the world. Fast wifi, a recent phone, a stable connection. Lighthouse scores optimized for conditions half the planet doesn't have.
I build web products for businesses in Kenya. A meaningful share of my users are on 3G, sometimes 2G, often on a budget Android phone with limited storage and a browser that hasn't seen an update in a year. Here's what that actually changes about how you build.
Your bundle size is a business decision, not a dev preference
A 2MB JS bundle that loads instantly on your MacBook can take 15 to 20 seconds on a real 3G connection. That's not a slow load, that's a user who left before your app finished parsing. I've watched analytics confirm this directly, drop-off spikes exactly where bundle size peaks.
Skeleton screens matter more than animations
