Most small-business sites are not slow because of the framework. They are slow because of three images and five scripts.
SHORT ANSWER
On mobile, three Core Web Vitals metrics decide perceived quality: LCP (largest element render time), INP (interaction responsiveness) and CLS (layout stability). The usual causes of poor scores are unoptimised images, blocking third-party scripts, and no reserved height for lazily loaded elements.
Start with images: correct format, responsive variants, explicit dimensions. Usually the cheapest fix and the biggest jump in LCP and CLS.
Then third-party scripts — chats, pixels, review widgets. Each sounds harmless until you add them all up on a phone with a weak signal.
Animation does not have to wreck scores if it runs on transform and opacity, respects prefers-reduced-motion, and is disabled on weaker hardware.
Rule of thumb: an effect nobody notices on a phone that eats 20% of the frame budget is a cost, not a feature.
A score from a laptop on fibre tells you nothing. Test on a mid-range phone under the conditions your customers actually use — usually on the move, one-handed, with poor signal.
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