PERFORMANT RETRIEVAL AND PRESENTATION OF CONTENT

Technologies are provided for performant retrieval and presentation of content in a user interface. In some embodiments, an application is configured with executable code for presenting content in predefined areas of a UI. The executable code defines a layout of the areas and provides formatting information, but does not include the content. At runtime, such as during an initial period prior to when the application is ready to process user input, a thread that is separate from a main application thread requests content from a remote server. The content can include text, for example. Regardless of its type, the content excludes formatting information. The application causes a display device to present received content in the predefined areas of the UI. To that end, the application utilizes the same program code that the application utilizes to display other content pertaining to the application.