A computer-implemented method, comprising: sending a request for a web page from a web client of an electronic device to a web server, the web page including at least one image; prior to receiving a response from the web server for the request for the web page, sending from the web client of the electronic device a pre-render request for the web page to a pre-render server, the pre-render server being different than the web server, wherein the pre-render request is a copy of the request for the web page and is sent concurrently with the request for the web page to the web server; serializing, by the pre-render server, at least one of a hypertext markup language file for the web page, at least in part, by encoding a separate binary-format version of the at least one image into a non-human-readable string, and embedding the non-human-readable string into the at least one serialized hypertext markup language file for the web page; receiving at the web client of the electronic device a pre-render response from the pre-render server, the pre-render response comprising a pre-rendered version of the web page including the at least one serialized file for the web page; receiving at the web client of the electronic device the response from the web server comprising a main or index file for the web page; providing by the web client of the electronic device the pre-rendered version of the web page for display while rendering the web page based on the response from the web server; and upon completion of the rendering, providing the rendered web page for display in place of the pre-rendered version of the web page. sending a request for a web page from a web client of an electronic device to a web server, the web page including at least one image; prior to receiving a response from the web server for the request for the web page, sending from the web client of the electronic device a pre-render request for the web page to a pre-render server, the pre-render server being different than the web server, wherein the pre-render request is a copy of the request for the web page and is sent concurrently with the request for the web page to the web server; serializing, by the pre-render server, at least one of a hypertext markup language file for the web page, at least in part, by encoding a separate binary-format version of the at least one image into a non-human-readable string, and embedding the non-human-readable string into the at least one serialized hypertext markup language file for the web page; receiving at the web client of the electronic device a pre-render response from the pre-render server, the pre-render response comprising a pre-rendered version of the web page including the at least one serialized file for the web page; receiving at the web client of the electronic device the response from the web server comprising a main or index file for the web page; providing by the web client of the electronic device the pre-rendered version of the web page for display while rendering the web page based on the response from the web server; and upon completion of the rendering, providing the rendered web page for display in place of the pre-rendered version of the web page.