Mobile Web Performance Reality Check 2026: Public Benchmarks and a 39-Site Homepage Audit
Mobile web performance in 2026 is better understood as a pattern problem than a mystery. Public benchmark data from HTTP Archive, CrUX, and Google documentation shows the same recurring constraints year after year: LCP is still image-led, pages are still heavy, JavaScript still dominates request count, and third parties still crowd the critical path. A focused 42-site homepage audit illustrates how those benchmark patterns appear across ecommerce, news, SaaS, travel, finance, government, and publishing.