To optimize a web application for performance, I would focus on both client-side and server-side optimizations. Here’s a comprehensive approach:

Client-Side Optimizations:

1. Minify and compress files: Minify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to reduce file size and compress them using Gzip to reduce payload.
2. Optimize images: Compress images using tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce file size.
3. Leverage browser caching: Implement caching to reduce the number of requests made to the server.
4. Use a content delivery network (CDN): Distribute static assets across multiple servers to reduce latency.
5. Optimize JavaScript and CSS loading: Use techniques like code splitting, lazy loading, and asynchronous loading to reduce page load times.

Server-Side Optimizations:

1. Optimize database queries: Use efficient database queries, indexing, and caching to reduce database latency.
2. Use a load balancer: Distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers to reduce server load.
3. Enable HTTP/2: Upgrade to HTTP/2 to reduce overhead and improve multiplexing.
4. Optimize server response: Use techniques like server-side rendering, caching, and compression to reduce response times.
5. Monitor and analyze performance: Use tools like New Relic or Google Analytics to identify performance bottlenecks and optimize accordingly.

By implementing these optimizations, you can significantly improve the performance of your web application, resulting in faster page loads, improved user experience, and increased conversions.