docs: Add APSC174 backend optimization guide

[JackSwitzer]

Summary

Added comprehensive optimization guide for the APSC174 backend to address critical performance issues causing slow TTFB and LCP metrics. This document outlines identified bottlenecks and provides step-by-step implementation instructions to achieve 4-10x performance improvements.

Key Changes

• Documented critical issues: Missing static generation, client-side-only MDX rendering, and runtime serialization causing 500-1500ms delays per page load
• Identified high-priority fixes:
  • Add generateStaticParams() to enable static generation for all 58 pages
  • Enable server-side MDX rendering by removing ssr: false dynamic import
  • Self-host KaTeX CSS instead of CDN fetch
  • Expand Vercel deployment to multi-region (US East, US West, Europe)
• Provided implementation details: Code snippets for each fix with file locations and line numbers
• Included performance projections: Expected improvements from 800-1500ms TTFB to 50-200ms, and LCP from 2-4s to 0.5-1.5s
• Added cleanup recommendations: Remove unnecessary API routes, simplify middleware matcher, and clean up redundant webpack config

Implementation Priority

1. Static generation (highest impact)
2. Server-side MDX rendering
3. Self-hosted KaTeX CSS
4. Multi-region deployment
5. Middleware simplification
6. Config cleanup

Notes

• Build time will increase from ~30s to ~60s due to static generation, but runtime compute moves to build time
• Aligns optimization patterns with existing JackSwitzer.com implementation
• All changes are backward compatible and can be implemented incrementally

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Project	Deployment	Review	Updated (UTC)
jack-switzer	Ready	Preview, Comment	Jan 26, 2026 2:01pm