SharePoint Performance Optimization: Speed Up Your Sites

Why Performance Matters

Slow SharePoint sites frustrate users and reduce adoption. Every second of delay impacts productivity.

Performance Metrics

Core Web Vitals

Google's key metrics:

- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Main content load time

• FID (First Input Delay): Time to interactive
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Visual stability

  SharePoint-Specific Metrics

  Additional metrics to track:

  - Page load time

• Search response time
• Document preview time
• Navigation speed

  Optimization Techniques

  1. Content Optimization

  Reduce what needs to load:

  Images:

• Compress before upload
• Use appropriate dimensions
• Leverage lazy loading
• Consider modern formats (WebP)

  Documents:

• Avoid embedding large files
• Use thumbnails for previews
• Link instead of embed

  2. Page Structure

  Optimize page architecture:

  Sections:

• Limit sections per page
• Collapse unused sections
• Use appropriate layouts

  Web Parts:

• Limit web parts per page
• Avoid redundant web parts
• Configure data limits

  3. List and Library Performance

  Optimize data structures:

  Indexed Columns:

• Index frequently filtered columns
• Index lookup columns
• Index date columns for views

  View Optimization:

• Limit items per view
• Use pagination
• Filter views appropriately

  Threshold Management:

• Stay under 5,000 item threshold
• Use indexed column filters
• Consider archiving old items

  4. Navigation

  Speed up site navigation:

  - Limit navigation nodes

• Use audience targeting
• Cache navigation structure
• Avoid complex mega menus

  5. Search Performance

  Optimize search queries:

  - Use result sources appropriately

• Limit result counts
• Configure caching
• Avoid complex queries

  Advanced Optimization

  CDN Configuration

  Leverage Content Delivery Network:

  - Enable public CDN for static assets

• Configure private CDN for dynamic content
• Test performance improvements

  Page Caching

  Configure appropriate caching:

  - Page output caching

• Blob caching
• Object caching

  Custom Solutions

  If using custom development:

  - Minimize JavaScript

• Optimize SPFx web parts
• Use async loading
• Implement pagination

  Monitoring

  Built-in Tools

  SharePoint analytics:

  - Site usage reports

• Page analytics
• User activity

  External Tools

  Additional monitoring:

  - Browser developer tools

• Network analysis
• Performance profilers

  Best Practices

  Design Phase

  Plan for performance:

  1. Keep pages focused

2. Limit web parts

Plan content strategy

Design efficient navigation

Implementation Phase

Build for speed:

1. Optimize images before upload

Test page performance

Use modern web parts

Configure appropriate views

Operations Phase

Maintain performance:

1. Regular performance audits

Content cleanup

Archive old content

Monitor analytics

Common Issues

Slow Page Loads

Causes:

• Too many web parts
• Large images
• Complex queries
• Heavy customizations

  Solutions:

• Reduce web parts
• Optimize images
• Simplify queries
• Review custom code

  List View Threshold

  Causes:

• Unindexed filters
• Large lists
• Complex views

  Solutions:

• Add indexes
• Archive data
• Simplify views
• Use metadata navigation

  Conclusion

  SharePoint performance optimization requires attention at design, implementation, and operations phases. Regular monitoring and optimization ensure continued good performance.

  Experiencing slow SharePoint performance? Our experts can analyze your environment and recommend optimizations.