Caching, Payloads and other Dark Arts | Faris Aziz | LisboaJS

Join us for co-working every Friday in Lisbon: https://lisboajs.org/ and at ZurichConf: https://conf.zurichjs.com/ Caching, Payloads, and Other Dark Arts: Optimizing UX in Suboptimal Conditions ​We build smooth UX on localhost and stable WiFi, then ship into environments with unstable networks, slow devices and backend APIs we do not control. When the cards are unideal, architecture decisions become the difference between a usable product and a broken one. ​This talk explores how to evaluate data flows under stress, handle different API classes, and separate what is critical from what is optional. We start from a setup that technically works but crumbles under real latency, then evolve it into something resilient and intentional. ​All demos were recorded on a long haul flight using unreliable in flight WiFi, exposing how brutal real conditions can be. The goal is to rethink how we design data access, not for perfect scenarios but for the harsh reality users actually use them in. Thank you Storyblok for sponsoring our community. Learn more about Storyblok: https://www.storyblok.com/lp/developers