EMBL-EBI | Low Resource Optimisation (LRO) Framework

Build optimal websites

A framework for low-resource web optimisation giving teams practical standards and tools to keep websites fast, resilient, and accessible wherever they are needed.

What is Low Resource Optimisation (LRO)?

A set of guidelines for designing, developing, and maintaining websites optimised for low-resource environments, covering performance, adaptive design, accessibility, offline support, and content efficiency.

Why it matters?

An unoptimised site becomes inaccessible for users in low-bandwidth, environments. The LRO framework provides a structured way to measure, fix, and validate web performance through a scored benchmark system, audit guidance, and optimisation strategies.

Explore key LRO topics

Where to start optimisation?

Find your entry point into the framework, whether you are designing, building, testing, or looking to embed LRO into your team's workflow.

How to measure and test websites? 

Analyse your baseline, identify bottlenecks, and apply targeted optimisations to make your service fast and efficient under constrained conditions.

How to design with performance in mind?

Translate LRO principles into lightweight design decisions, from page structure to interaction patterns, that keep your service usable under constrained conditions.

How to optimise rendering?

Choose the right rendering strategy and make your service accessible to users on slow networks and low-end devices regardless of their connection or hardware.

What content should be prioritised?

Deliver meaningful text and navigation first, so users can read and interact with your page even when scripts or assets are slow to load.

Help us improve

Tell us what works well and what could be improved.

Your feedback will help improve the framework and its documentation and will only be visible to the development team.

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